Trump has not ruled out the possibility of the United States attempting to charge passage fees for ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz on its own.
Previously, Iran had threatened to impose high fees on vessels passing through the strait; now Trump has indicated that the U.S. might do the same.
From the perspective of international law, the Strait of Hormuz is an international strait. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), all nations' vessels enjoy the right of innocent passage, and no country has the authority to levy "tolls" on international waterways. The United States itself is not a coastal state (the coastal states are Iran and Oman).
Trump's logic is essentially akin to "extortion for protection"—that is, "If I don't collect money, Iran will; rather than letting Iran collect it, let me collect it instead, and I'll guarantee your safety." This forces other nations to choose between "paying money to the U.S." and "allowing tensions in the Middle East to escalate."
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861768506732544/
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