by Ben Whedon
President Donald Trump on Monday said that the U.S. would reimpose its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed hostilities with Iran.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving,” he posted on Truth Social.
Trump also announced that the U.S. would charge tolls in the waterway to recover the costs of protecting it.
“All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, 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 to this very volatile section of the World,” he added. “The process and formation will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
On social media, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, said Trump “is absolutely right.”
“Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair,” Abbas Araghchi noted.
According to AAA, the average gas price in America on Monday is $3.87, which is down from $4.08 a month ago.
California no longer has the highest average gas price. Hawaii now holds the title at $5.45.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News.  Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
