US to take over Strait of Hormuz, charge fee for passage, Trump says

By Riya Misra | 07/13/2026 12:10 PM EDT

The U.S. will become “guardian” of the strait, President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Three boys play in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background near Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Three boys play in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background near Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Monday. Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP

President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will take over the Strait of Hormuz — and will be reimbursed “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” for overseeing one of the world’s most critical oil passageways that has been at the center of the U.S.’s re-escalating war with Iran.

“We will become guardians of the strait,” Trump said during an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning. “We’re going to hit [Iran] very hard and keep the strait, and probably run it.”

His comments arrive on the heels of fresh strikes in the Gulf, where Iran and the U.S. exchanged heavy fire over the weekend.

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Trump followed his Fox News interview with a Truth Social post that said the U.S. will reimpose a blockade on Iran.

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