President Donald Trump said he was open to working with Iran to collect fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, even calling the idea “a beautiful thing.” But less than 24 hours later, he reversed course and warned Iran to stop charging tolls immediately, adding more pressure to an already fragile ceasefire between the two countries.
The ceasefire, reached late Tuesday night on April 7, came just hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline. Trump had threatened that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight” if a deal was not reached. Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes. According to CNBC, the agreement came after nearly six weeks of fighting that badly disrupted global energy markets.
ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl asked Trump whether he approved of Iran’s plan to charge ships a fee for passing through the strait. Trump said, “We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it, also securing it from lots of other people. It’s a beautiful thing.” The Financial Times had reported that Iran was planning to charge shipping companies $1 per barrel of oil aboard each vessel, with payments to be made in cryptocurrency.
Iran’s grip on the strait puts the ceasefire to an early test
Trump’s tone had shifted afterward. He posted a warning on Truth Social saying, “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait. They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” In a follow-up post, he accused Iran of doing a “very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” and said it was “not the agreement we have.”
Analysts and observers have been watching closely to see what this means for U.S. global economic influence, with some arguing that who controls the strait says a lot about who holds real power in the world economy. The ceasefire deal had specifically required Iran to fully and immediately reopen the strait. But as of Thursday, ship traffic through the waterway remained far below normal levels.
Before the war, between 100 and 120 commercial vessels passed through the strait every day. On Thursday, that number was well below 10 percent of normal, according to reports. Iran was also inspecting ships and requiring them to stay in its territorial waters.
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei added to the tension by saying that Iran would bring “the management of the Strait of Hormuz into a new stage” during upcoming talks with the United States. He called Iran the “definite victor” of the war and said the country “will not withdraw from our rightful rights.”
Oil prices continued to hover near $100 per barrel as a result. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier called any tolling system “illegal” and “dangerous for the world,” and said the U.S. and its European partners would need a plan to deal with it. That kind of pushback from within the administration made Trump’s brief openness to a joint toll venture all the more surprising to outside observers.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said clearly that the ceasefire depended on the strait being opened “without limitation, including tolls.” Vice President JD Vance had also warned Iran that if it chose to “lie” or “cheat,” the consequences would be serious.
Peace talks between the two sides were scheduled for April 10 in Islamabad, Pakistan, led by Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the Pentagon has been quietly planning weeks of ground operations inside Iran, raising further doubts about whether a lasting deal is truly within reach.
Published: Apr 10, 2026 12:12 pm