Trump Threatens Toll on Shipping Through Hormuz if Final Deal With Iran Fails

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a toll on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz if a final agreement with Iran is not reached within 60 days. Under the existing ceasefire arrangement, toll-free passage has been guaranteed only for this 60-day period. Trump told reporters that toll collection would begin once this period lapses if a final deal has not materialised by then, justifying the move as compensation for the financial burden the US has borne as the protector of West Asian nations.

Trump has faced considerable backlash within the US over how the current memorandum handles the toll issue at the Strait of Hormuz, since the agreement guarantees free passage only for 60 days and does not prevent fees from being imposed thereafter.

Meanwhile, even as the US and Iran had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and peace agreement to allow time for further negotiations, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that it had shut down the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC cited Israel's continuing attacks in Lebanon as a violation of the peace agreement, justifying its move.

Iran's bid to close Hormuz, a critical oil and gas shipping route, has once again raised concerns over global energy supply. However, the US Central Command said that 55 commercial vessels passed through the strait on Saturday itself, and that it would ensure the safety of merchant shipping. US Vice President J D Vance also said there were no indications that the Strait of Hormuz had actually been closed.