White House Official: Trump Is "Very Serious" About Plan to Impose 20% Transit Fee on Hormuz

Odaily Odaily reported that according to US media outlet Semafor, a White House official stated that Trump is "very serious" about his plan to impose a 20% transit fee on goods passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a plan he has been pushing for months. Trump has long been interested in imposing such a fee, questioning in April why his administration "hasn't done it," and threatening to start charging in June if an agreement with Iran was not reached within 60 days. However, Trump does not always put his ideas into action, and until this week, he had refused to formally announce the plan—partly due to opposition from within his inner circle. "This has always been something he wanted to do, but some people have tried to talk him out of it,"

the White House official said. "For him, it has always been his gut instinct; he just keeps coming back to it." It remains unclear how this fee system, linked to the reinstatement of a maritime blockade of the strait, would operate, or even whether the US has consulted with Gulf states on the matter. According to the official, the details of the plan are still being finalized. (Jin Shi)