President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is done protecting the Strait of Hormuz for free, declaring that America should control the critical oil route and get paid for keeping it open.
The blunt message came as Washington and Tehran continue to clash over the international waterway, one of the most important shipping lanes on the planet.
“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it,” Trump told Fox News.
Oil prices climbed Monday morning as the U.S. and Iran traded new strikes and the chances of a peace deal appeared to slip further away.
Stock indexes fell as investors watched the growing standoff in the Persian Gulf.
Trump said the U.S. may take on a formal role securing the strait, but made clear American taxpayers should not be left footing the bill.
“We’ll become the guardian of the strait — maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait,” Trump told Fox. “And we should be reimbursed for that.”
“We can’t be expected to do that for nothing, unlike we had for many years,” he added. “We guarded it for nothing, and now we’re going to guard it, we’re going to get paid for guarding it. A lot of money.”
The Strait of Hormuz handled about 20% of the world’s oil trade before the war with Iran erupted in late February.
Since then, the waterway has become the center of the renewed conflict, with both Washington and Tehran asserting control over the route.
Iran has signaled it wants to charge tolls or impose other fees on ships passing through the strait.
The U.S. has rejected that move.
A temporary ceasefire deal signed in mid-June barred Tehran from charging commercial vessels to move through the strait.
But that agreement has been battered by repeated attacks in the region.
Trump last week declared the ceasefire “over” after the latest wave of violence.
The president’s new position marks a sharp turn from years of U.S. policy in the region, where American forces have long helped secure shipping lanes without demanding direct payment.
Trump is now making the case that wealthy nations and energy-dependent allies should help cover the cost of keeping oil moving.
The message fits his broader America First approach: if the U.S. is expected to protect global trade, somebody else should be cutting a check.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the world.
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