by WorldTribune Staff, July 13, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
The United States will become the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said on Monday as he announced the blockade on Iranian ships would be reimposed and other wealthy nations would pay America for safeguarding commercial traffic through the vital waterway.
U.S. Central Command: ‘The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway.’ / Video Image
“The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” the president wrote in a post to Truth Social. “The process and formation will begin immediately.”
Trump also said the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran is no longer in force: “It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people — and so we’re just going to hit them very hard… They’re a bad group of people. They’ve been this way for a long time.”
He also said the U.S. is reinstating its blockade on Iranian ports and vessels, adding the blockade is “so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.”
“All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait,” Trump said, adding that it will stay open “with or without Iran.”
The president told Fox News earlier Monday that the U.S. was “going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the ‘Guardian Angel of the Strait.’ And we should be reimbursed for that.”
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post to social media on Sunday:
“The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway. U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations. Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing.”
CENTCOM denied claims from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that it controls the strait, a waterway that connects the Persian Gulf with the broader ocean and allows for the transit of about a fifth of the world’s traded oil supply on a normal day.
The IRGC had said that no foreign-owned vessels may travel through the strait, which CENTCOM said is false.
The U.S. military said it struck around 140 targets in Iran such as missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment, and other military sites. It said the new attacks, heavier than during recent days, would weaken Iran’s ability to threaten transit in the strait.
The new wave of strikes from American forces was triggered by Iran having launched attacks on commercial vessels in the region, while Donald Trump on July 10 said that a temporary ceasefire that was established under a memorandum of understanding signed by both sides was effectively over. But Trump left open the door for more negotiations between Teheran and Washington.
“They’re very, very evil and sick people,” Trump told the outlet on Sunday. “We had meetings with them. They agreed to a deal yesterday, a perfect deal for us. No nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing. They gave up everything. And then after that, they left the room. And then within an hour, they launched a drone at a ship.”
.@POTUS on Iran: “It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people — and so we’re just going to hit them very hard… They’re a bad group of people. They’ve been this way for a long time.” pic.twitter.com/7Ye70MrxN8
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 13, 2026
