United States President Donald Trump warned Iran against charging fees from vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, just days ahead of peace talks with Tehran in Pakistan.
He also asked Iran to stop doing so in case the reports of such fees being charged are true.
Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, "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!"
The US President's remarks come after some reports suggested that Iran may charge a toll from vessels crossing through the key trade waterway through which, around 20 per cent of the world's oil passes.
Iran to charge $1 per oil barrel toll from tankers passing Strait of Hormuz: Report
After Iran and the US agreed to a temporary ceasefire for two weeks as both the nations prepare to hold talks for sustained peace later this week, the former reportedly is trying to leverage its position by charging a fee for passing through Strait of Hormuz.
Iran to charge toll in crypto, says report
Iran will charge shipping companies to let their oil tankers pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz through cryptocurrency, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The report quoted Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union, as saying that the country wants to charge a fees from every vessel passing through the strait and also needs to monitor what the ships are carrying.
Earlier, Iran had also suggested that it would use the money collected from such fees for reconstruction.
"Iran needs to monitor what goes in and out of the strait to ensure these two weeks aren't used for transferring weapons," Hosseini said.
Also read: Can Iran legally charge toll from ships passing Strait of Hormuz? What norms say
The report also said that Iran would demand a fee of $1 per barrel of oil.
'Oil will flow, with or without Iran'
Just minutes after warning Iran against any fees to pass through the strait, Trump posted again and said that the oil will start flowing with or without the help of Iran.
Calling out the Wall Street Journal for an opinion piece titled 'Trump Declares Premature Victory in Iran' and authored by its Editorial Board, the US President said that there was nothing "premature" about US' "victory".
He said that it is because of him that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.
'The Wall Street Journal, one of the worst and most inaccurate "Editorial Boards" in the World, stated that I "declared premature victory in Iran." Actually, it is a Victory, and there’s nothing “premature” about it! Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you’ll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way. The Wall Street Journal will, as usual, live to eat their words. They are always quick to criticize, but never to admit when they’re wrong, which is most of the time!" he wrote in the post.
'Iran doing a very poor job'
In his spree of posts on Truth Social came another just minutes later in which Trump said that Iran is doing a “very poor job” of letting oil pass through Strait of Hormuz and that it is not in accordance with their agreement.
Without giving much detail or context, he wrote, “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!”
