In a dramatic live phone intervention on FOX News on Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States is taking control of the Straits of Hormuz from Iran. Striking a highly transactional tone, Trump asserted that the US would manage the strategic waterway as its "guardians" and demand financial compensation from wealthy allied nations for its services.
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"We're taking control of the Straits. They have nothing left," the American president stated bluntly. "We will maintain control of the Strait. We will probably manage it. We will be the guardians of the strait, and this time we will get paid. We've been protecting it for 50 years without getting paid, now we're going to make money."
Trump made it clear that Washington would no longer shoulder the financial burden of securing global trade routes alone. "If we do this, we will be compensated, because the other countries are very wealthy, they are on our side, and we cannot be expected to do it for free, as has been the case for many years," he added.
According to Trump, Iranian military capabilities have been heavily neutralized, and key leaders have been killed during the conflict. The United States continues its strikes against Iranian targets following the collapse of a brief ceasefire announced over the weekend.
The US President also revealed behind-the-scenes details of an intense diplomatic standoff, stating that Iranian leaders engaged in an 11-hour negotiation marathon with US officials on Sunday. According to Trump, an agreement had been completely finalized before the Iranian side abruptly backed out.
"Well, something that nobody knows. Yesterday they had an 11-hour meeting. Everything lasts 11 hours with these guys. You know, you can't settle it with one sentence, in one hour and one minute. It should be one minute. And yesterday everything was agreed upon. And they leave the room, then they call back and say: 'We had to make a few changes,'" Trump claimed.
Expressing his frustration with Tehran's diplomatic tactics, he stated: "We are not going to make changes. Always changes. They’re just, you know, professional negotiators. That's all it is. I wouldn't even say they're good at it. They haven't achieved anything, they haven't gotten anything from me. But if you look at the last 47 years, they have taken advantage of people, of presidents. Every president was taken advantage of, did nothing, and they just got stronger and stronger."
Trump concluded by reiterating that Iran is currently taking "overwhelming hits" in its ongoing military confrontation with the United States, framing the current escalation as a long-overdue response to a threat that should have been dealt with "47 years ago."
