Trump says world nations must reimburse US for keeping Hormuz oil flowing

Trump claims foreign countries have offered no help and will repay the United States for securing the Strait of Hormuz once the conflict ends.

First Published: September 14, 2026, 12:31 PM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump said foreign nations must eventually reimburse the United States for keeping oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, framing the effort as a burden Washington carries for others.

The demand escalates a standoff over the waterway that carries about a fifth of the world’s traded crude and gas. It revives a compensation fight Trump himself launched and then abandoned earlier this year according to straitstimes.

Iran ian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that whoever secures safe passage for commercial vessels through the strait should be compensated. He added that a 20 percent rate was “too much,” according to straitstimes.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Oil is flowing through the Hormuz Strait. The Countries of the World, which have been no help to us whatsoever, should, and will, reimburse the United States of America when this SCAM Confligration is all over. We are doing it much more for others, than we are for ourselves, and we have been for Generations! Trump” on September 14, 2026 at 12:25 PM ET.

This is Trump’s 6th message released today, and the last post was 2 minutes ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 73 of his 578 posts over the last 30 days classified as foreign policy posts.

President Donald J. Trump posed at Washington D.C.

Trump first raised the reimbursement idea in July, when he said the United States would impose fees in the strait “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” after declaring America the “guardian” of the route according to cnbc. He also said the United States would reimpose its blockade of Iran ian ports near the strait, the center of the reescalating conflict with Tehran according to cnbc. Oil prices jumped and stock indexes fell following the announcement according to cnbc.

The proposed levy would have meant roughly $30 million on a full supertanker carrying about two million barrels of crude, based on oil prices near $80 a barrel according to straitstimes.Iran had been charging as much as $2 million per voyage on an ad hoc basis, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg according to straitstimes. The White House did not detail how the fee would work or whether it reached Gulf allies according to straitstimes.

The threat did not last. Trump reversed the fee plan days later, saying he would replace it with trade and investment deals from Gulf states after calls from those countries, adding that he did not “like the concept of a fee” according to bbc. “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” Trump said, according to Public Broadcasting Service.

The reversal came amid renewed strikes between the two sides.Iran retaliated against US positions by hitting American allies and tankers in the region, with vessels struck in the strait and at least two crew members killed according to bbc. The strait normally accounts for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows, and the interim deal meant to reopen it collapsed as fighting resumed according to Public Broadcasting Service.