‘Grasping at straws’: Trump’s Hormuz toll thought bubble didn’t last long – but the ramifications will

July 15, 2026 — 10:08am

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Donald Trump’s preposterous proposal to take control of the Strait of Hormuz and charge a 20 per cent toll for the privilege of crossing safely lasted all of 24 hours.

It was always a non-starter – for one thing, a 20 per cent charge on the value of a ship’s cargo was a silly number, plucked from nowhere. It would have added about $US16 to the cost of a barrel of oil overnight, according to analysts.

Trump now says the US will protect the strait but Gulf countries that heavily depend on it – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain – will invest more in the US to cover the costs of that protection.

Well, we’ll see. Nonetheless, this thought bubble – which Trump has raised several times, as far back as April 6 at a White House news conference – will have a legacy beyond its brief life.

It certainly won’t be forgotten by Iran, which seized on the president’s proposal as an admission that it was fully entitled to charge for “maritime services” provided in the strait (read: allowing your ship to cross without being fired upon).

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