Trump says US is ‘guardian’ of Strait of Hormuz during Iran attack
President Donald Trump convened “Fox & Friends” to talk about the Strait of Hormuz and the attack on Iran.
The United States launched a new attack on Iran on July 13, the third consecutive day of strikes after President Donald Trump declared an end to a long and unstable ceasefire as the United States seeks to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, U.S. Central Command said the attack, which began at 4:45 p.m. ET, “continues to impose heavy casualties on Iranian forces and reduces their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.”
President Trump said on the same day that the United States was reinstating its naval blockade against Iran and would act as a “guardian” of the vital waterway. He added that the US would charge countries a fee of 20% of the value of all cargo transported to cover “all costs necessary to carry out the work of providing safety and security to highly volatile regions of the world.”
“We’re occupying the strait. They don’t have anything,” Trump said in a July 13 phone interview with Fox News, claiming that the United States would be “redeemed” by other Middle Eastern countries for operating the strait, a key oil shipping corridor in the region.
U.S. and Iranian officials last month signed a preliminary peace agreement to end the war that began on February 28. The memorandum called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the start of further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and US sanctions. Iran’s previous port blockade was lifted in June, before the preliminary agreement collapsed.
President Trump also appeared on the Hugh Hewitt radio show on July 13 to discuss the U.S.-Iranian conflict and said the U.S. was preparing to attack the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility.
“We’re going to destroy Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to get ready,” Trump said in an interview. “We’re watching closely. We don’t see any activity there. They’re not doing a good job on the nuclear issue. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up.” “That’s why they don’t like to talk about it. But maybe we’ll try the ice ax relatively soon.”
Contributor: Joey Garrison, zach anderson
