Will US collect Hormuz toll? Trump plans joint venture with Iran

Within hours of the announcement of the US-Iran ceasefire on Wednesday, American President Donald Trump said that he was planning a "joint venture" with Tehran to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz. The use of the business term, joint venture or JV, makes one think if the real estate developer-turned-politician was eyeing the toll being collected by Iran from ships passing through Hormuz. He called the tolling a "beautiful thing".

Trump told ABC News that the "US might seek a joint venture with Iran to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz".

"We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It's a way of securing it -- also securing it from lots of other people," Trump told ABC News when he was asked if he would allow Iran to charge tolls from ships passing through the narrow passageway in the Persian Gulf.

"It's a beautiful thing," Trump added on the toll being charged by Iran from the commercial ships.

Earlier this week, Trump had said the winner of the war could charge tolls from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical stretch in the Persian Gulf for energy and gas supplies and had always been a free waterway. But the strikes on Iran by the US and Israel that started on February 28 changed everything.

In retaliation, Iran hit nearby Gulf countries that hosted American military bases and closed the Strait of Hormuz to show its power in the region.

Iran reopened the Hormuz to friendly or paying vessels, mainly from China, Pakistan and Greece among others. They have been allowed through after fees reportedly as high as $1–2 million per ship.

Shipping insiders have named it the 'Tehran Toll Booth'.

On Monday, when Trump was asked about Iran charging tolls from ships traveling via Hormuz, he suggested that the US might be looking to levy that charge, according to reports in The Hill and Al Jazeera.

During a White House Press conference, Trump was asked by a journalist if the US would allow Iran to keep charging tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.

"What about us charging tolls?" Trump asked. "I'd rather do that than let them have them," he said, adding, "Why shouldn't we? We're the winner."

"We won, OK? They [Iran] are militarily defeated. The only thing they have is the psychology of 'oh, we're going to drop a couple of mines in the water'," Trump was quoted by The Hill as saying. "We have a concept where we'll charge tolls."

It is definitely the "big money" that can be made by "just hanging around" at the Strait of Hormuz that is luring Trump. He made that intention clear in his post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

"The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. We'll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just 'hangin' around' in order to make sure that everything goes well. There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process," Trump posted on Wednesday.

- Ends

Tune In