Donald Trump has warned Iran against imposing fees on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This comes amid the recent ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran. The President’s latest remark threatens to strain an already delicate truce.
Donald Trump sends a warning to Iran
Donald Trump has issued fresh threats to Iran, warning them not to charge tolls for ships that are passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post on April 10, the President stated, “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait.” He then warned, “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”
Shortly after sending this warning, Trump made another post where he reiterated, “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!”
Trump’s new warnings come just a couple of days after he agreed to a two-week conditional ceasefire deal with Iran. In an April 8 Truth Social post, the POTUS declared, “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” only on the condition that Iran agrees “to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Amid the fragile ceasefire agreement, the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around 20% of global oil supply, remains under tight restrictions. Furthermore, experts claim that oil tanker traffic at the Strait will likely not return to normal anytime soon.
Speaking with CNBC, Nils Haupt, the communication chief at the shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd, said, “Returning to normal for our industry is weeks away.” He added, “It will take weeks, if not months, to reintroduce the original shipping schedules that we had before the start of the war.”
Meanwhile, according to recent reports, Iran wants oil tankers to pay a transit toll in cryptocurrency to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, in an effort to avoid sanctions (via The Wall Street Journal).
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
