Tuesday, July 14, 2026 - President Donald Trump has said the United States will seek compensation for protecting the Strait of Hormuz after declaring it would take over responsibility for securing the strategic waterway
Speaking during an interview on Fox News' Fox & Friends
on Monday, July 13, Trump said the US would become the "guardian" of
the Strait of Hormuz and argued that countries benefiting from its security
should help cover the cost. "We'll become the guardian of the Strait.
We're going to get paid for guarding it. A lot of money, but we just want to be
reimbursed for doing all of this, for putting our people in danger."
Trump added that the US had been protecting the waterway for
years without compensation. "We're going to keep the strait, and we'll
probably run it. We'll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we'll call it
the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that."
The remarks come amid renewed tensions between the United
States and Iran following a series of military exchanges that have cast doubt
on efforts to preserve an interim ceasefire agreement reached earlier this
year. The Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the dispute because of its
importance to global oil and gas shipments.
Trump also accused Iran of failing to honour previous
agreements reached during negotiations. "We had a deal. It was a done
deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with
these people, and so we're just going to hit them very hard."
He also criticised Iranian negotiators, claiming they sought
changes after marathon talks. "Yesterday, they had an 11-hour meeting and
everything was agreed to. Then they leave the room, call back, and say they had
to make a couple of changes."
Iran's foreign ministry said it is continuing discussions
with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent further
escalation.
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has
insisted the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and warned that normal shipping
would only resume if the United States ended its military operations in the
area. The group also cautioned that continued interference could have wider
consequences for the global oil and gas market.
The latest confrontation follows missile and drone attacks
exchanged by US and Iranian forces over the weekend, with Tehran saying it
targeted American military facilities across the Gulf while maintaining its
closure of the waterway. The renewed hostilities have raised concerns over
global energy supplies and pushed oil prices higher.
0 Comments