Trump reinstates Hormuz blockade on Iran, plans toll on ships

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 13, 2026 20:40 IST

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States was "reinstating" a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and would charge ships for safe passage, as a fresh round of exchanges raised new doubts over efforts to end the war. He said Iranian ships would no longer be able to travel through the strait and that the US would impose a 20 per cent toll on eligible cargo.

Trump said on social media, "We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving." He added, "All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait," and said the toll would help cover "any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World."

The latest escalation followed an Iranian attack on a container ship on Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has asserted control over the waterway since the United States and Israel began the war on February 28. Before that, about a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed through the strait. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the passage and potentially charge fees under an interim peace deal reached last month. The US and others dispute that, citing international law on freedom of navigation, and the American military has tried to establish an alternative route outside Iranian control.

Iran and the US are nearly halfway through a 60-day period meant for negotiations on a permanent end to the war and an agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear programme. Instead, attacks around the strait have raised fears of a return to full-scale war and fresh disruption to the global economy. Oil prices rose nearly 5 per cent on Monday before easing back, with US benchmark crude trading at about USD 72.92 a barrel after having climbed to nearly USD 120 at the height of the war. Markets were mixed.

The US military said it struck dozens of targets in Iran on Monday, including air defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment, and small boats, and said Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, "Freedom of navigation has to be respected." Mohammed Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, wrote that Tehran would fight for the strait, saying, "We defend it so that in the future, for the passage of our ships, we are not forced to pay tribute to the enemy!" and, "Retreating from this vital matter has no place in the mind of any friend of Iran." Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the Strait of Hormuz is "our territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it."

Elsewhere in the region, missile alert sirens sounded three times in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, while Kuwait said it was intercepting hostile fire. There was no immediate word on damage in either country. Jordan said it shot down four Iranian missiles in an incident that "resulted in zero casualties or material damage". In Iran, authorities reported attacks in Hormozgan, Khuzestan and Markazi provinces and said at least two people were killed. Iranian media also reported strikes in Sistan and Baluchestan province on the Gulf of Oman coast. A base used by an Iranian Kurdish opposition group's armed wing in Iraq's Kurdistan region also came under drone attack on Monday, with no immediate details on casualties or damage and no claim of responsibility.

The fighting has centred on control of the strait. Early on Sunday, the US military said it had hit about 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps and communication equipment, in a much heavier wave than in the two previous rounds of strikes over the past week. Iran responded by attacking countries in the region that host US forces, with strikes stretching to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman. Oman later summoned an Iranian diplomat to protest the attack. Iran's hold over the strait has weakened as the US military has supported vessels using a southern route along Oman's coastline, though Tehran has repeatedly attacked ships using it. MarineTraffic.com said, "Traffic through the Oman route dropped over the weekend to minimal levels, indicating that operators continue to prioritise perceived security over more direct transit options."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei blamed Washington for the latest crisis and said, "Considering the memorandum of understanding's fourteen clauses, the Americans have, in this brief period, in one way or another, slaughtered its various components." He also said Iran would not allow Atomic Energy Agency visits to nuclear sites bombed by the US in 2025. Trump had suggested last week that the interim deal in the war was "over", but mediators including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt have continued efforts to secure a final agreement. A regional official involved in the mediation said efforts to shore up the ceasefire continued on Sunday, while Pakistan said its foreign minister spoke to Iran's top diplomat and urged "de-escalation" on both sides.

With PTI Inputs

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