Trump restores Hormuz blockade, seeks cargo charge as Iran warns US

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 14, 2026 01:52 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 other ships for safe passage, in a move that marked a shift from Washington's earlier position that the waterway should remain open without tolls. Iran, which says it controls traffic through the strait, responded by saying it would resist any US interference, as fresh exchanges of fire raised fears of a return to full-scale war.

The announcement has added to uncertainty around the interim peace deal reached last month, under which the US had lifted a blockade imposed in mid-April and the strait was to be fully reopened. Oil markets reacted quickly, with Brent crude rising 7.8 per cent to USD 81.92 a barrel on Monday, though that remained below the nearly USD 120 seen at the height of the war.

Trump wrote on social media: "We are reinstating the IRANIAN BLOCKADE. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait." He also said the US would be "reimbursed" by 20 per cent of the value of cargo to cover "any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security". The US military later said it would resume its blockade of Iranian ports on Tuesday at 4 pm EDT.

Until now, the US had maintained that the strait should stay open to all without tolls, as it was before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Any move by either the US or Iran to charge for passage would go against global norms on freedom of navigation and could deepen tensions while adding to economic disruption beyond the region.

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and to potentially charge fees under the interim peace deal, a position the US rejects. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked Trump's statement on social media and wrote on X: "POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair."

The Maritime Organization, the UN agency that oversees international shipping, said it was waiting for more details of Trump's proposal but remained opposed to tolls in international waterways. "There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait," it said in a statement.

Washington's earlier position had been sharply different. During a meeting with Gulf leaders late last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: "That's international waterway. There isn't a nation on Earth that supports having to pay money to go through the straits." He also said there was "zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters. The president's made it clear that's not going to happen."

Before Iran effectively shut down the strait at the start of the war, about a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed through it, pushing up global prices of energy, fertiliser and other goods. Traffic improved after last month's agreement but stayed well below pre-war levels. The US military has tried to set up a route along Oman's coast that it says is outside Iranian control, but Iran has attacked ships using it, saying the move violates the interim peace deal. The US has responded with strikes, prompting Iranian attacks on US-allied Arab states.

The US military said it hit dozens of sites on Monday after an Iranian attack on a container ship a day earlier, targeting air defence systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment, and small boats. It also said it used drone ships for the first time to strike an Iranian ship maintenance facility and a submarine on Sunday. Missile alert sirens sounded three times in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, with no immediate word on damage.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait said its consulate in Iraq had been attacked, though it did not say who was responsible or report damage or casualties. Kuwait also condemned Iran and "its factions and militias loyal to it in Iraq" for attacking what it described as several border points and a maritime oil drilling platform belonging to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Jordan's military said it shot down four Iranian missiles in an incident that "resulted in zero casualties or material damage."

Inside Iran, authorities reported attacks in Hormozgan, Khuzestan and Markazi provinces, with state-run IRNA saying at least two people were killed. Semiofficial Iranian media also reported strikes in the eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, on the Gulf of Oman coast. The attacks continued hours after the US said its strikes had ended, reviving the possibility that Gulf Arab states were retaliating. There were also unclaimed attacks on Iran on Thursday.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei blamed Washington for the turmoil in the region and said Iran would not agree to visits by the Atomic Energy Agency to nuclear sites bombed by the US in 2025, where Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is believed to be buried. Trump said last week that the interim deal was "over" and ended waivers that had allowed Iran to sell crude oil on the open market in US dollars, though mediators including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt have continued efforts to secure a final agreement. Iran and the US are nearly halfway through the 60-day period meant for talks on ending the war and addressing Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

In sum, Trump's decision to restore the blockade and back cargo-based charges in the Strait of Hormuz has added to pressure on an already fragile truce, even as military strikes continue across the region and diplomatic efforts to reach a final settlement remain under way.

With PTI Inputs

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