Dubai: US President Donald Trump said Monday (July 13) that the United States is “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and will charge other ships for safe passage. Iran has insisted it controls the critical waterway, as another exchange of fire threatened a return to all-out war.

The US had until now said the strait should remain open to all without tolls, as it was before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Any attempt by the US or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and raise tensions, likely causing further economic disruption far beyond the region.

The latest exchange of fire, sparked by an Iranian attack on a container ship, had already cast further doubt on the interim peace deal reached last month. Washington lifted a blockade it imposed in mid-April as part of that deal, which also called for the strait to be fully reopened.

“We are reinstating … THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” Trump said on social media. “All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”

The president said the US would be “reimbursed” by 20% of the value of cargo to help cover “any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security”.

Iran asserts it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with the interim peace deal. It has vowed to fight back against........

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