Trump Declares the U.S. the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait” and Demands a 20% Fee on Cargo

In a July 13, 2026 social media post, President Trump announced that the United States "will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,'" and that it "will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security" in the waterway. He said the process of setting up the arrangement would begin immediately, and that the U.S. would reimpose its naval blockade of Iranian ports near the strait. U.S. Central Command has said American forces have escorted more than 800 commercial vessels and 400 million barrels of crude through the strait since early May. Oil prices rose about 6% on the announcement. The International Maritime Organization said there is no legal basis for mandatory tolls in the strait.

Charging shippers a percentage of cargo value for transit protection would be a novel use of American naval power, converting a security mission into a revenue stream. It also mirrors the toll system Iran has sought to impose on the same waterway, and it sits uneasily with the long-standing U.S. position that the strait is an international waterway subject to free passage.

No implementing mechanism, legal authority, or collection process has been published. Shipping and insurance markets, not the announcement, will determine whether vessels use the U.S.-protected corridor; traffic through it had already thinned under Iranian attacks.