‘Protecting a very rich portion of the world’: Trump wants to be reimbursed for guarding Hormuz
Strait of Hormuz: Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway.
- Jul 14, 2026,
- Updated Jul 14, 2026 8:15 AM IST
US President Donald Trump said that he wants Gulf nations to reimburse the United States for helping protect the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route at the centre of the latest confrontation with Iran. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the US was protecting a very wealthy part of the world and should be paid by the countries it was helping.
He also said the United States was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed at a rate of 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran claimed it had closed the waterway.
In the Oval Office, Trump said: "I want to be reimbursed because we are protecting a very rich portion of the world. We are spending money. And so what we have done is... we are going to be reimbursed for protection by the countries that we are helping. For instance you look at the five countries... you have Saudi Arabia, you have UAE, you have Qatar, Bahrain and you have Kuwait, and you have others. And they will do very well but we think it is appropriate that we don't need them, you know, we have more oil than any other country in the world. When you add Venezuela and everything else, we have more than 50 per cent of the world's supply. We don't need it but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies, including Israel, including Saudi Arabia, including Qatar, including UAE. We are protecting all of them and we have done a very effective job."
On Truth Social, Trump said, "The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE." He added: "The USA... 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," and said the process would begin immediately, without elaborating.
Asked about a US-Iran peace deal, he said, "Yeah, I think a deal is possible."
Trump had floated the idea earlier in a phone interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends", saying the US would probably take over the strait and should be reimbursed. He had said that the US was “going to keep the strait” and “run it”. “We'll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we'll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that," he said.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. Iran's effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally. Trump said the US was going to be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy, and that they can't be expected to protect the strait for nothing.
MUST READ | How many Indian ships are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz?
After announcing the waterway's closure on Saturday following what it described as an unauthorised transit, Tehran said on Sunday that passage remained suspended and that permits would be issued once "stability and calm" were restored. Trump said, "We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people, and so we're just going to hit them very hard."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, and warned that "continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector".
US and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks over the weekend and into Monday, with Tehran saying it had struck US military facilities across the Gulf and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, driving oil prices higher.
US President Donald Trump said that he wants Gulf nations to reimburse the United States for helping protect the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route at the centre of the latest confrontation with Iran. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the US was protecting a very wealthy part of the world and should be paid by the countries it was helping.
He also said the United States was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed at a rate of 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran claimed it had closed the waterway.
In the Oval Office, Trump said: "I want to be reimbursed because we are protecting a very rich portion of the world. We are spending money. And so what we have done is... we are going to be reimbursed for protection by the countries that we are helping. For instance you look at the five countries... you have Saudi Arabia, you have UAE, you have Qatar, Bahrain and you have Kuwait, and you have others. And they will do very well but we think it is appropriate that we don't need them, you know, we have more oil than any other country in the world. When you add Venezuela and everything else, we have more than 50 per cent of the world's supply. We don't need it but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies, including Israel, including Saudi Arabia, including Qatar, including UAE. We are protecting all of them and we have done a very effective job."
On Truth Social, Trump said, "The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE." He added: "The USA... 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," and said the process would begin immediately, without elaborating.
Asked about a US-Iran peace deal, he said, "Yeah, I think a deal is possible."
Trump had floated the idea earlier in a phone interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends", saying the US would probably take over the strait and should be reimbursed. He had said that the US was “going to keep the strait” and “run it”. “We'll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we'll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that," he said.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. Iran's effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased concerns about inflation globally. Trump said the US was going to be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy, and that they can't be expected to protect the strait for nothing.
MUST READ | How many Indian ships are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz?
After announcing the waterway's closure on Saturday following what it described as an unauthorised transit, Tehran said on Sunday that passage remained suspended and that permits would be issued once "stability and calm" were restored. Trump said, "We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people, and so we're just going to hit them very hard."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, and warned that "continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector".
US and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks over the weekend and into Monday, with Tehran saying it had struck US military facilities across the Gulf and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, driving oil prices higher.