President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States ‌would probably take over the Strait of Hormuz and should be reimbursed for controlling the vital waterway. “We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be ‌reimbursed for that,” he said in a phone interview on Fox News’ “Fox & ​Friends.”

Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the conflict. ⁠Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has pushed up energy prices and increased ​concerns about inflation globally. “We’re going to guard it. We’re going to get paid ⁠for guarding it – a lot of money,” Trump said. “We’re going to be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy. They’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” ‌he said. After announcing the waterway’s closure on Saturday following what it described as ​an unauthorized transit, ‌Tehran said on Sunday that passage remained suspended and that permits would be issued once “stability and calm” were restored.

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