USA and Iran: Trump Demands 20 Percent Fee on Cargo Through the Strait of Hormuz

Trump's Move: 20 Percent on Every Cargo

Behind the push, according to the White House, is also a concrete budget shortfall. The Pentagon is reportedly running out of money for ongoing military operations. Trump has requested $67 billion from Congress in special funds for operations in Iran. If no agreement is reached on the special defense budget, the US armed forces could run into serious operational difficulties by late summer, according to Washington sources.

The US military strikes have, according to security expert Prof. Klemens Fischer, so far not been enough to "bring Iran to its knees." Since the resumption of hostilities, American forces have struck more than 300 targets, according to Trump's own statements, primarily military installations around the strait: air defense systems, radar facilities, and bases.

Military Situation and Security Conditions

Iran has retaliated for the attacks. Over the weekend, Revolutionary Guards fired on a container freighter sailing under a Cypriot flag off the coast of Oman, whose tracking systems had been switched off. On Monday, Iran also attacked Gulf states allied with the US. Mohsen Rezaei, the military advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, declared that the Strait of Hormuz is "more important than dozens of nuclear bombs" for Iran.

The US claims the Strait of Hormuz is open. Iran claims the opposite. Cargo traffic through the waterway has dropped to its lowest level in a month following the attack: on Sunday, only 14 ships passed through the bottleneck.

The framework agreement signed in mid-June under the mediation of Pakistan and Qatar originally provided for the neighboring states Iran and Oman to negotiate the future administration and shipping services of the strait. It also included a $30 billion reconstruction program, the release of frozen foreign assets, the gradual lifting of US sanctions, and the resumption of oil trade. Iran and Oman had planned to siphon off revenues from pilotage services and other shipping services in the billions.

Economic and Political Consequences

Trump had already declared the ceasefire negotiated in mid-June "null and void" last week and called the Iranian negotiators "disturbed people." At the same time, he pointed to an announced 14-point plan for Iran—analogous to his 20-point plan for Gaza, with which the release of hostages held by Hamas had previously been achieved. The likewise-announced "Peace Council" for Gaza, however, has made little progress since the hostage release.

Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives in June, like the Senate, voted for a War Powers Resolution intended to force an end to hostilities. The plan to "take over" the strait is likely to be militarily difficult to implement, according to the report's assessment.

Background: The June Framework Agreement

The coastal states on the Persian Gulf—Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—are to be included in a future agreement on freedom of transit. Iran insists that only its own pre-determined routes may be used and only with prior approval. Iran also continues to support terrorist groups and militias in the Near and Middle East.