Donald Trump: We will take control of the Strait of Hormuz

• In an interview with Fox News, Trump claimed that the United States “will keep the Strait of Hormuz open” and will “probably run it.”
• In the same accounts, he said the United States would “become the guardian of the strait” and “should be compensated for this.”
• Trump also claimed: “When we do this, the cost will be paid to us” and “we will get paid.”
• In several reports, Trump was quoted as saying that the United States is “taking control of the Strait of Hormuz” or “will take it over.”
• Khabar Online and Akharin Khabar both wrote that Trump spoke of U.S. efforts to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz and collect fees from passing ships.
• In reports by Fars and Jamaran, Trump claimed that Iran had violated the agreement and said that Tehran “will pay the price for this action.”
• Jamaran also quoted Trump as saying that he said, “Last night we dealt Iran a very heavy blow,” and that Iran “got nothing from me.”
• ISNA quoted Seyed Abbas Araghchi as saying, sarcastically to Trump, that if someone ensures the safe and secure passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, that service deserves to be paid for.
• In the same quote, Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that Iran “has always safeguarded the security of the Strait of Hormuz and will continue to do so forever,” adding, “Of course, 20 percent is a very high figure; we will be fair.”
• In ISNA’s coverage, Mohammad Mokhber said: “Retreating from the Strait of Hormuz has no place in the mind of any Iran-lover.”
• Mehr and Khabar Online used critical terms to describe Trump’s remarks, calling them, respectively, “the delusion of control” and “brazen fantasy.”
• In some headlines and summaries, the figure of 20 percent was presented as a “toll” or “compensation,” but this number appeared in different forms in various quotes, and not all sources explained it in the same way.
• Some media outlets, including Entekhab and Shargh, without adding new details, focused more on the claim of “control” and the role of “guardian” for the United States.

The account:

In a series of reports, Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, claimed that the United States could take control of the Strait of Hormuz, regard itself as its “guardian,” and charge countries fees or compensation for doing so. In the same accounts, he said they would keep the Strait of Hormuz open and would likely run it. Some media outlets cast these remarks as a new claim about the Strait of Hormuz, while others described them as fantasy, delusion, or extortion. By contrast, Persian-language coverage also pointed to reactions from Iranian officials, including Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who responded to Trump’s remarks sarcastically, and Mohammad Mokhber, who said that retreating from the Strait of Hormuz has no place in the mind of any Iran-lover.