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President Donald Trump declared Monday that the United States would now be compensated for guarding the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint in the Middle East.
Speaking on Fox and Friends, Trump described the U.S. role as taking over the Strait and stressed that Washington had previously protected it “for nothing.”
“We’ll become the guardian of the Strait,” the president said. “We’re going to get paid for guarding it. A lot of money, but we just want to be reimbursed for doing all of this, for putting our people in danger.”
Trump’s remarks follow recent hostilities between U.S. and Iranian forces, which have reached levels not seen since an April ceasefire. The confrontations have centred on the Strait, a vital route for global energy shipments, highlighting the ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
During the interview, Trump criticised Iranian negotiators for revisiting previously agreed terms during lengthy talks over the weekend.
“They had an 11-hour meeting, and everything was agreed to yesterday. And they leave the room, and they call back, and they say we had to make a couple of changes,” he said, without specifying what adjustments were requested.
Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed ongoing discussions with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman to prevent further escalation.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the Strait was “closed,” but the United States insists it remains open to maritime traffic under international law of the sea.
The president’s comments underscore Washington’s determination to maintain influence over the Strait of Hormuz while seeking financial reimbursement from allied nations for its military presence—a rare instance of the U.S. framing strategic security in transactional terms.
