Trump says US will ‘probably’ take over Strait of Hormuz and get paid

President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States would "probably" take over the Strait of Hormuz and demanded that other nations reimburse Washington for the costs of protecting the critical waterway, escalating his rhetoric as American and Iranian forces continued exchanging strikes over the strategic chokepoint.

"We're going to keep the strait, and we'll probably run it," Trump said, according to Reuters. The president called the United States the strait's "guardian angel" and said it had been guarding the passage "for nothing," a situation he declared would change as wealthy nations are expected to contribute financially.al-monitor+2

A Waterway at War

The remarks came as the U.S. and Iran each asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of attacks across the wider Middle East. The U.S. military has struck more than 300 targets inside Iran since Tehran first breached a fragile ceasefire by launching missiles at commercial vessels on July 6. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the waterway closed after U.S. forces hit 140 Iranian military sites in a third wave of assaults last week.cnn+3

Despite Trump's insistence that the strait remains open to commercial traffic, only one vessel transited in each direction through the shipping lane in a 24-hour period last week, and maritime security authorities raised the threat status to "severe".youtube

From 'Toll-Free' to Takeover

Trump's Monday comments mark a shift from his earlier position. In mid-June, after signing an interim ceasefire deal with Iran, the president said the strait would be "permanently toll-free". By June 20, as the deal showed signs of strain, he warned on Truth Social that the U.S. could impose tolls "for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East" if a final agreement was not reached within 60 days.reuters+3

That deal collapsed in early July after Iran attacked commercial ships in the strait, and Trump declared the truce "over" on July 7. Since then, the conflict has widened, with Iran retaliating against U.S. bases and striking American allies including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.npr+2

Oil Markets and Global Stakes

Roughly a fifth of the world's oil supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and the disruption has rattled energy markets. Analysts told Fortune ↘ 3.51% that prices are likely to surge close to $90 per barrel and that normal shipping volumes are unlikely to return for months. The International Energy Agency has projected a surplus in 2027 once the strait stabilizes, but no clear path to a long-term peace deal is currently in sight.fortune+1