Kumar Bahukhandi
Donald Trump said the United States was “taking over” the Strait of Hormuz as fighting around the strategic passage threatened Middle East peace efforts.
Trump reinstates blockade on Iranian ships
Washington: US President Donald Trump said his country would reinstate its blockade of Iranian ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and demanded a 20 per cent reimbursement on all other cargo shipped through the waterway. Trump’s announcement Monday, in which he asserted the US would become the waterway’s “GUARDIAN,” intensifies an ongoing spat between Washington and Tehran over the status of the crucial shipping passage at the centre of the two nations’ revived conflict. The President posted on social media that the strait “will remain OPEN, with or without Iran.”
While Iran’s ships would be blocked from entering or leaving, other nations’ vessels could cross. But the US “as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” the President wrote. Oil prices extended gains to session highs on Trump’s comments, while stocks and bonds fell. Trump said “the process and formation” of his plan “will begin immediately.” The White House did not provide other details on Trump’s proposal, including how it would be administered or whether it had been communicated to US allies in the Gulf. Iran insists that ships must obtain permission and follow approved routes.
( Source : Bloomberg )
