Trump says it would be better for the US to impose Strait of Hormuz crossing tariffs

Washington (ANTARA) - United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that it would be better for the US to collect fees from ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz rather than Iran doing so. “What if we collect the crossing fees ourselves? … I think we should do it rather than them,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question about the possibility of Iran imposing tariffs on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. “We have a concept where we collect the fees,” the US President added. At the end of March, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Iran’s parliamentary commission on national security and foreign policy, said his side planned to establish new shipping regulations in the Strait of Hormuz. Under these new rules, Tehran would guarantee safe navigation for ships, but with transit fees imposed. No ship would be able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Iran, he said. The United States and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on 28 February, causing damage to infrastructure and civilian casualties. Tehran then carried out retaliatory strikes against Israeli territory and US military bases across the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. As a result of these tensions, shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and LPG supplies from the Gulf region to global markets, came to a complete halt. This led to many countries experiencing rises in fuel prices.