President Trump said Wednesday that Iran has formally told the US it will not levy tolls on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing contradictory reports as "fake news." He warned that if that information proves false, negotiations with Tehran will end immediately. Trump also stated the US will use frozen Iranian funds to purchase American food — corn, wheat, soybeans — for Iran, and that no money has been transferred to Tehran.
President Trump updated his position on the Strait of Hormuz toll issue Wednesday afternoon, stating that Iran has officially informed the US it will not charge passage fees. The president dismissed reports to the contrary as "fake news" and laid down a clear ultimatum: if the Iranian statement proves false, indirect negotiations with Tehran will be terminated immediately. Trump also said no money has been transferred to Tehran and that the US will instead use frozen Iranian assets to purchase American agricultural products — corn, wheat, soybeans — exclusively for Iran's food needs.
This latest statement, published at 14:40 Jerusalem, builds on a rapid series of updates from the president earlier the same hour. The first version, at the same timestamp, reported Trump's initial denial of toll collection and his warning that talks would end if the information was wrong. A subsequent version added explicit denial of fund transfers and specified that only food purchases would be allowed from escrow. The current iteration sharpens the ultimatum and fills out the food-aid mechanism. The thread has evolved from a single-channel report (N12) to the president's own on-record posts, though the underlying claim of an Iranian undertaking remains uncorroborated by any independent or Iranian source.
As The Zioneer has reported over the preceding week, the toll dispute has been a central sticking point. On June 13, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that toll collection continues, directly contradicting the president. On June 15, Iran claimed the US recognized its right to collect tolls after a 60-day grace period, and an i24NEWS journalist noted that Iran had merely switched to levying an "insurance fee." On June 19, Iran's Strait Authority said no fees would be charged for 60 days but demanded 48-hour advance notification. On June 20, Trump warned against any tolls during a ceasefire. On June 21, an Iranian negotiating team member declared, "You will pay at Hormuz — that is final."
What remains open is the core factual question: whether Iran has indeed told the US it will not collect tolls, as Trump asserts, or whether the Iranian position — as articulated by its own officials across multiple channels — is different. No independent or third-party confirmation of Trump's account has emerged, and the Iranian officials' recorded statements continue to point the other way. Until such clarification appears, the president's ultimatum creates a potential trigger for the talks' collapse, but the trigger's factual basis is unverified.
4 developments
- DevelopingIran says it will not collect Strait of Hormuz tolls for 60 days
- StrongIranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: toll collection in Strait of Hormuz continues, contradicting Trump
- StrongTrump: Strait of Hormuz fully open by Friday, Iran will not get nuclear weapons
- DevelopingBarak Betesh (i24NEWS) scrutinizes Trump’s claim on toll-free Hormuz, noting Iran switched to insurance fee instead
Source and signal
- Internal intake