President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States will take on the role of “the guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington and Tehran continue to dispute control of the strategic waterway following a series of military strikes over the weekend.
“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”
“We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll become the guardian angel of the strait, and we should be reimbursed for that,” he added, arguing that wealthy allied nations should contribute financially to the effort.
Trump said the U.S. had protected the Strait of Hormuz for decades without compensation.
“We guarded the strait for 50 years, and we never got paid for it,” he said. “We guarded it for nothing.”
The comments came after United States Central Command announced that American forces had carried out another wave of strikes against Iran, targeting locations intended to reduce Tehran’s ability to threaten international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also claimed that Iran’s military capabilities had been severely weakened, saying the country’s navy, air force and missile systems had been largely destroyed. He continued to defend U.S. military action while discussing the status of ceasefire negotiations with Tehran.
According to Trump, Iranian officials held an 11-hour meeting during negotiations with the United States and initially reached an agreement before later seeking changes.
“Everything was agreed to yesterday,” Trump said, claiming Iranian negotiators later returned with demands for modifications. “We’re not going to make changes.”
The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, is now witnessing a direct battle between the US and Iran with both sides seeking influence and control over the waterway.
