Donald Trump did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. He rebranded a war.

The announcement itself was almost incidental to its packaging. The United States Navy will enforce what Trump has named “THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” effective July 14, targeting Iranian shipping while leaving transit open to everyone else. Alongside it came a second, stranger claim: the United States would now be known as the “GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” and would collect a 20 percent toll on all cargo passing through it. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, did not reject the logic. He haggled with it. Twenty percent, he wrote, was too much; Iran had always been the guardian and would remain one; a fairer rate could be discussed.

Two states now competing to monetize the same chokepoint have, without quite meaning to, agreed on the premise that guardianship of Hormuz is a service one bills for rather than a commons one........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)