President Donald Trump has said the US could take over and run the Strait of Hormuz, the latest of his hard-line rhetoric on the Iran war.
“We’ll become the guardian of the strait,” he said.
Mr Trump made this remark during an interview with Fox News on Monday.
“We are taking over the strait. They have nothing. They’ve got nothing,” he said.
Mr Trump said he expects the US to be reimbursed for controlling the vital waterway. He said the US should be reimbursed 20 per cent on all cargo shipped through the Strait.
“The U.S.A… will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20 per cent on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” he said.
The US and Iran have been locked in a struggle for control of Hormuz since the start of the war. PREMIUM TIMES reports that the strategic waterway had been a major point of contention during talks between the two parties in Islamabad from May to June.
The recent exchange of strikes was also caused by an attack on a vessel passing through the strait.
Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally.
However, Mr Trump said the US hit Iran “very hard last night,” referencing the CENTCOM attacks on Saturday and Sunday night.
“We have them. We have them in the run,” he said. “Most of their equipment is gone. Their anti-aircraft stuff is gone,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Iran has doubled down on its stance over the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that the Strait of Hormuz should be controlled by Iran and Oman.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps previously stated that it would not allow any country to “continue its illegal interference in it.”
Iran announced the waterway’s closure on Saturday morning over what it described as unauthorised transit. The day after, it declared that passage of ships remained suspended and that permits would be issued once “stability and calm” were restored.
However, Mr Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the “Hormuz Strait is open, and will remain open, with or without Iran.”
