Trump vows no Iranian tolls in Hormuz but opens door for US charges, exposing fragile ceasefire deal
President Donald Trump declared Saturday that Iran will not charge tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but his accompanying warning that the United States could impose its own tolls if peace talks fail has laid bare the fundamental instability of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump sought to settle the toll question that has rattled global energy markets since the ceasefire took effect. “There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period,” he wrote. But then came the qualifier: “And there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed.”
Trump framed any future US tolls as a reimbursement for American military commitment to the region, describing them as “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs.”
The statement came just hours after Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced it was re-closing the strait, citing continued Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon and accusing Washington of failing to uphold its commitments under the ceasefire memorandum. The announcement by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB marked a swift deterioration of the truce that had briefly reopened the vital waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints, carrying approximately 20% of the global oil supply. Any sustained disruption to traffic through the narrow passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman can send oil prices soaring and rattle international markets within hours. Iran’s re-closure, combined with the uncertainty over who will ultimately control access to the strait, has shipping companies and energy traders on edge.
The memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran left the toll question deliberately ambiguous. The document does not explicitly rule out future tolls after the initial 60-day ceasefire period, and both sides have interpreted its terms differently. Iran’s chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had previously stated that Tehran would charge a “maritime services fee” for vessels transiting the waterway, a position Trump’s Truth Social post directly contradicted.
The contradiction at the heart of Trump’s position is difficult to ignore. On one hand, he insists that Iran will not be permitted to levy tolls on international shipping. On the other, he explicitly reserves the right for the United States to do exactly the same thing if negotiations do not produce a permanent deal within the 60-day window. For global markets and regional powers watching the situation, the message is clear: the strait will return to being a bargaining chip regardless of who holds the cards.
Iran’s re-closure of the waterway underscores how fragile the entire arrangement is. Tehran justified its move by pointing to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon that continued despite a separate ceasefire agreement there, and by accusing Washington of failing to enforce the terms of the US-Iran memorandum. The Biden-era framework of negotiated de-escalation has given way to a newer, more transactional approach under Trump, one in which every provision is subject to reinterpretation and every guarantee comes with an expiration date.
Centcom disputed Iran’s claim of re-closure without providing further detail, and reported that 55 merchant vessels successfully transited the strait on Saturday, moving more than 17 million barrels of oil. But the competing assertions from Washington, Tehran, and the US military command have done little to clarify the operational reality on the water.
For the countries that depend on the strait’s free passage, including Japan, South Korea, India, and much of Europe, the Trump administration’s position offers no lasting reassurance. A 60-day pause on tolls, followed by the possibility of US-imposed fees if talks collapse, is not a stable outcome. It is a temporary reprieve with a contingency plan attached.
The fragility of the ceasefire deal is now visible to all. The opening of the strait was supposed to signal the beginning of a durable peace. Instead, it has become the central point of contention in a negotiation where both sides are already positioning for the next confrontation.