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Trump says U.S. will become 'guardian' of Hormuz, demands compensation

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • U.S. President Donald Trump declared the U.S. will act as the "guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Trump demanded compensation for protecting global oil traffic through the strategic waterway.
  • Tensions escalated with Iran following U.S. military actions and Iranian responses.

President Donald Trump announced that the United States will assume the role of "guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil transport. In a television interview, Trump asserted that Washington deserves compensation for safeguarding this strategic commercial route, which is currently at the center of conflict with Iran.

Washington should be compensated for protecting this strategic commercial route.

— Donald TrumpSpeaking about the U.S. role in safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump emphasized that the U.S. should be reimbursed for its efforts, stating that "other nations" benefiting from the approximately 20% of global oil that transits the strait are "very rich." He added, "You can't expect us to do that for free. What we want is to be reimbursed for putting our people in danger."

The president accused Tehran of breaking a ceasefire agreement, an escalation that followed U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets in response to attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump stated, "We hit them very hard last night. Every time they send a drone, we hit them very hard." He also claimed a prior agreement had been violated, insisting, "We've had ten agreements with these people; so we're just going to hit them very hard."

You can't expect us to do that for free. What we want is to be reimbursed for putting our people in danger.

— Donald TrumpExplaining the U.S. demand for compensation for protecting oil traffic.

In retaliation for U.S. actions, Iran reportedly targeted several Washington allies, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Iran also declared the waterway closed "until further notice." The U.S. launched a renewed offensive against Iran overnight Sunday, aiming to further degrade Tehran's capacity to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Central Command (Centcom) specified that targets included Iranian missile and drone facilities, naval capabilities, ammunition depots, communication networks, and coastal surveillance posts.

We hit them very hard last night. Every time they send a drone, we hit them very hard.

— Donald TrumpDescribing U.S. military actions against Iran.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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