Iran Mocks Trump's Hormuz Fee Announcement

US Central Command announced a third consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Monday, saying on X that the strikes "will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz." Earlier Monday, President Trump declared that the US will be the "guardian" of the strait, but will impose heavy costs on shipping.

• "As a matter of FAIRNESS," Trump wrote on Truth Social, the US "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 process and formation will begin immediately."

Trump called the strikes "another major attack," the AP reports. "We're hitting them very hard. And it'll continue, and we'll see what happens," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "We're knocking out all of their offensive capability and we're controlling the straits. We're putting the blockade back."

• Trump said the US is "protecting a very rich part of the world" and will be "reimbursed for protection." The move contradicts the administration's previous position on the strait, the New York Times reports. "No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month. He said there was "zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters. The president's made it clear that's not going to happen."
• Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, mocked Trump's announcement. "POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service," he wrote on X. "Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair."

Oil tankers in the strait, meanwhile, were attacked again on Monday. The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said two Emirati tankers were hit by Iranian cruise missiles in Omani waters, igniting fires on both vessels, the Guardian reports. One crew member was killed and eight others were injured, the ministry said, calling the incident a "brazen attack" and a violation of international law.