US President Donald Trump has promised not to collect tolls on the Strait of Hormuz unless his country collects them.
President Trump’s statement, made in a post on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon, is the latest sign that the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) may be unraveling.
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“No tolls will be collected in the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period, and no tolls will be collected after the 60-day period ends, unless imposed by and on behalf of the United States,” Trump wrote.
Since the US and Israel began their war against Iran on February 28, Iran has successfully used the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic point, closing the strategic waterway to traffic.
However, under the terms of Wednesday’s cease-fire memorandum, the strait is to reopen for an interim period of 60 days. Meanwhile, Iran is barred from shipping passage.
But on Saturday, Iran’s Joint Forces Command announced it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing “clear violations” of the memorandum’s commitments.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the area, denied the reports and insisted that traffic continued to flow through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in the conflict between the United States and Iran. Almost 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the Strait, and about 30 percent of the world’s fertilizer trade is also transported through the Strait.
The closure of the strait is raising global fuel costs and testing the world’s agricultural sector.
President Trump had responded to Iran’s stranglehold on the strait by imposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the region.
However, that naval blockade was lifted under the terms of Wednesday’s memorandum of understanding. The agreement also suspended fighting on all fronts in the regional conflict, including Lebanon.
However, this memorandum was not intended to be a long-term agreement. It will serve as a starting point for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
Some differences are also not mentioned in the memorandum. Nowhere in the memo does it say that future fees cannot be collected from Straits after the 60-day period has passed.
Before the war, tolls through this strait were free. President Trump himself said in an interview with the New York Times that the waterway should remain “free forever.”
But he appeared to reverse course in a post on Saturday, suggesting once again that the United States could collect tolls in the strait while preventing Iran from doing so.
“If the agreement is not completed, no fees should be imposed except by and on behalf of the United States,” Trump wrote.
He explained that such a claim would compensate the United States for “services rendered as a guardian angel to Middle Eastern countries for past, present, and future cost reimbursement.”
President Trump used similar language in an interview with the New York Times earlier this week, highlighting that the United States would become the “guardian of the Middle East” in exchange for 20% of revenue.
Saturday’s post also isn’t the first time Trump has weighed in on the U.S. tolls on the Strait.
In April, for example, he discussed the idea with reporters, saying, “What about us charging a fee? I’d rather do that than charging them a fee. Why shouldn’t we? We’re winners. We won.”
There is no evidence that President Trump’s plan has been formally presented to regional countries, many of which have maintained a careful balance in their dealings with both the United States and Iran during the war.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have repeatedly said they would not rule out imposing tolls on the strait, framing the issue as one of sovereignty and regional negotiations. This strait lies between Iran and Oman.
Further discussion on this issue is expected in the coming weeks.
But such talks are at risk amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon that threaten to violate Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum.
Iran claimed Saturday’s closure of the strait was the result of a new Israeli attack in southern Lebanon that killed dozens of people after the ceasefire was announced.
Iranian officials also said that future talks should focus on properly implementing the first memorandum of understanding, and that the 60-day negotiation period set out in Wednesday’s deal would begin after the agreement is reached.
Pakistan, the main intermediary between the United States and Iran, said follow-up talks were scheduled to begin in Switzerland on Sunday.
The Swiss Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had already arrived for negotiations.
From the US side, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Vice President J.D. Vance are scheduled to attend.
Vance left for Switzerland late Saturday.
