U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States, not Iran, should collect fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
When asked whether he would support a solution in which Tehran would impose tariffs on maritime transit, Trump responded that he would prefer the U.S. to do so and collect the fees.
“We are the winners,” he said.
“We won. They were defeated militarily… we have a concept whereby we will charge for passage,” he added.
Trump also emphasized that, in order to meet his deadline, which expires Tuesday evening European time, a deal with Iran must be reached “that is acceptable to me.”
He added that part of that agreement would include a requirement for free oil transit through the strait.
Trump: This is a critical period, Iran could be left without bridges and power plants
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with the loss of bridges and power plants if it fails to meet the deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said Iran was showing willingness to negotiate, stating that there was an “active and willing participant” on the other side seeking to reach an agreement.
However, he gave Tehran until Wednesday morning to reopen the waterway, warning that otherwise they would “live in hell.”
When a journalist from The New York Times asked whether he was concerned about potential attacks on civilian infrastructure—which would constitute a violation of the Geneva Conventions—Trump responded that he was not concerned, but hoped it would not come to that.
“If you think I will allow them to have nuclear weapons, you can tell your friends at The New York Times that this will not happen,” he said.
He added that this was a “critical period” and that his decision would depend on Iran’s actions.
He warned that if Iran failed to meet the deadline, it would be left “without bridges” and “without power plants” and would be pushed “back to the Stone Age.”
“We absolutely can bomb them,” Trump said.
