United States President Donald Trump on Monday said that the US was reinstating the naval blockade of Iran and would be “reimbursed” 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait ‌of Hormuz for keeping the crucial waterway open.

The strait is “open and will remain open, with or without Iran”, Trump said on social media.

The reinstated blockade will only stop Iranian “ships or customers from entering or leaving” and “all other countries will have fair and open use of the strait”, he said.

The US will be known as “The Guardian of the Hormuz Strait”, Trump said. He added that “as a matter of fairness, [the US] will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary” to provide security in the region.

The process will begin immediately, he added.

Since the war in West Asia began, the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, had effectively been blocked for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

On June 15, the US and Iran arrived at an interim agreement to stop the fighting and reopen the strait for commercial vessels. They also held talks in Switzerland aimed at reaching a final peace deal within two months.

The US had ended its blockade of Iran as part of the interim agreement.

On Monday, the price of global benchmark Brent crude jumped 4.4% after Trump’s comments.

The price of Brent was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started, and had reached as high as $114 per barrel on May 4.

The price fell to the pre-war level after Iran and the US announced the interim deal on June 15. However, the price has risen in recent days amid fresh fighting in West Asia.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Anamika Pathak.