U.S. and Iran share mixed messages about Strait of Hormuz as strikes continue
ISTANBUL — President Trump says that the U.S. will not allow Iranian ships to move through the Strait of Hormuz and will charge a toll on other countries' ship cargo, following a weekend of fighting between the U.S. and Iran.
"We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," he said in a post online.
Trump said other countries will be able to move through the waterway, but that the U.S. would charge a 20% toll on cargo. He said the toll was reimbursement for doing "the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World."
Until now, the U.S. had said there should not be any tolls or fees on ships moving through the strait.
Trump's comments come after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire for the third weekend in a row and into Monday, threatening a return to all-out war after a shaky ceasefire took effect in June.
Iranian leaders have been defiant that Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz.
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Renewed strikes
The latest round of attacks began on Saturday, when Iran fired at a commercial ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz and said it was closing the vital waterway completely.
Speaking Sunday to NBC's Meet the Press, Trump rejected Iran's claim that the strait was closed.
The U.S. retaliated, striking multiple sites in Iran overnight. Iran responded to those U.S. attacks on Sunday launching strikes in Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman. The United Arab Emirates also said it came under missile fire.
That prompted another round of U.S. strikes on Iran Sunday evening. U.S. Central Command said it hit "dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz."
"The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it," CENTCOM said in a statement.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said in statements carried by state media on Monday that it targeted U.S. bases and outposts in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait with missiles and drones.
On Monday morning, missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Kuwait's army said its air defense systems were intercepting "hostile attacks." There was no immediate word on damage.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the escalation. "These attacks must all stop," he said in a statement through his spokesperson on Sunday, warning that "a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences."
Claims of breaching the deal
The U.S. has urged ships to use a southern route through the Strait of Hormuz that hugs the coast of Oman. Iran has said this violates the memorandum of understanding signed last month between Iran and the United States.
Iran's Parliament speaker and negotiator with the U.S. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted an image of the preliminary deal on social media, highlighting a section of Point 5 that says "Iran will make arrangements." He wrote: "The era of one-sided deals is OVER."
The U.S. has also accused Iran of breaching the memorandum. And during the NATO summit last week, President Trump declared the ceasefire "over," but didn't rule out further talks.
The foreign minister of Qatar — a mediator in the conflict — had said ceasefire talks would continue after the multi-day funeral last week for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ayatollah was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes at the start of the war in late February.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a news conference Monday that Iran was in touch with mediators including Oman, Qatar and Pakistan, saying their role was to de-escalate the situation.
But the status of negotiations with the U.S. was not clear.
New supreme leader issues address
After the late ayatollah's burial in Iran, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued an address. He did not appear on camera and his message was read by a news anchor on Iranian state television.
"We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers," the message said, referring to Iran's war with Israel in June 2025 and the current war.
It was one of the few statements attributed to the new supreme leader.
Iranian officials said Khamenei was injured early in the war, but his status is unknown. He has not been seen publicly since he took power in March.
Oil prices spike
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping route for oil, liquefied natural gas and other goods. The war caused major disruptions to trade and energy supplies internationally. So continued fighting in and around the strait has pushed oil prices higher.
The international benchmark for oil climbed further after President Trump announced the renewed naval blockade, with Brent crude futures above $82 a barrel by Monday afternoon.
AAA says the average price of regular gas in the U.S. is now $3.87 a gallon — about 8 cents up from a week ago, but 21 cents lower than a month ago.
Kpler, a data and analytics company that tracks global commodity and shipping markets, said that crossings through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped by more than half from the previous week.
This is a developing story, which may be updated.
NPR's Scott Horsley contributed reporting from Washington.
Facts Only
* President Trump stated the U.S. will reinstate the Iranian blockade of ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
* The U.S. will charge a 20% toll on cargo for passage through the waterway.
* The toll is described as reimbursement for providing safety and security.
* The U.S. had previously stated there should be no tolls or fees on ships in the strait.
* Iran leaders maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz.
* Iran fired at a commercial ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it was closing the waterway.
* The U.S. retaliated by striking multiple sites in Iran overnight.
* Iran responded by launching strikes in Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman.
* U.S. Central Command claimed strikes degraded Iran's ability to attack international shipping through the strait.
* The United Nations Secretary-General condemned the escalation, warning against a return to full-scale hostilities.
* Iranian leaders engaged mediators including Oman, Qatar, and Pakistan to de-escalate the situation.
* Oil prices climbed after the announcement regarding the naval blockade.
Executive Summary
President Trump announced that the United States would reinstate a blockade on Iranian ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and charge a 20% toll on cargo to facilitate passage for other nations. This declaration followed fighting between the U.S. and Iran over three weekends, which escalated into threats of all-out war. The U.S. stated that the blockade was reinstating because it only stopped Iranian ships or customers from entering or leaving. While other countries were permitted to move through the waterway, the toll was framed as reimbursement for providing safety and security in the volatile region, contrasting with previous statements that no tolls would be imposed.
The conflict involved retaliatory strikes, where Iran launched attacks on Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman in response to U.S. actions. The U.S. claimed strikes degraded Iran's ability to attack international shipping through the strait, asserting that Iran does not control the waterway. Iranian leadership maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiations regarding a ceasefire were complicated by differing views on the memorandum of understanding between the two nations, with Iran citing breaches and external mediation efforts involving Oman, Qatar, and Pakistan.
Full Take
The dynamic presented is one where direct conflict generates immediate, highly transactional policy shifts, exemplified by the imposition of tolls and blockades over a vital maritime corridor. The core pattern involves actors attempting to reassert control—Iran claiming sovereignty over the strait versus the U.S. asserting control through unilateral action. The use of economic levers, specifically the toll, shifts the conflict from purely military confrontation into an economic domain where security is monetized.
The tension between stated agreements and subsequent actions reveals a pattern of rhetorical maneuvering aimed at establishing perceived leverage. When diplomatic frameworks like memorandums are invoked, yet immediate military escalation occurs, the framework itself becomes secondary to immediate power projection. Furthermore, the divergent narratives regarding control over the Strait of Hormuz suggest that the practical reality of maritime access supersedes formal legal agreements in moments of acute tension. The subsequent focus on internal leadership transitions within Iran, framed through references to past conflicts, indicates a persistent narrative concerning historical grievance driving current behavior.
This suggests a system where strategic control is constantly negotiated through force and economic imposition, and the stated goals of de-escalation often exist in parallel to, but are not causally linked to, the operational outcomes. What is being obscured is whether these economic tolls are genuinely about security reimbursement or serve as a deeper mechanism for establishing asymmetric control over global trade flows during protracted instability.
Bridge Questions: If economic leverage is used to enforce geopolitical control, what long-term structural incentives exist that might encourage actors to use these tools rather than sustainable diplomatic frameworks? How do shifts in internal political leadership within a state influence its willingness or ability to honor international agreements versus assert territorial claims? What are the tangible, measurable costs borne by global trade when security arrangements are predicated on fluctuating political negotiations?