President Donald Trump has announced the reinstatement of a blockade specifically targeting Iranian interests, while simultaneously introducing a 20 percent fee on all cargo vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz. Asserting that the U.S. acts as the "guardian angel" of this critical maritime chokepoint, Trump argued that these charges are essential to fund the security operations required to keep the waterway operational for other nations. While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi conceded that those securing the passage deserve compensation, he rejected the 20 percent figure as excessive and insisted that Iran remains the true historical guardian of the region.

The situation in the Strait has deteriorated rapidly, with tit-for-tat military strikes between U.S. forces and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatening regional stability. Following recent Iranian attacks on ships and regional neighbors, the U.S. military has conducted retaliatory strikes across multiple Iranian sites to protect commercial traffic. Despite previous diplomatic efforts to establish a ceasefire and avoid tolls in the waterway, the current escalation—marked by missile strikes on tankers and the closure of the strait by the IRGC—has effectively overshadowed earlier international law concerns regarding the imposition of transit fees.