From Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Fee Gambit to Deadly US–Iran Strikes and $90 Oil

• Fee demand and first strikes
• Blockade, tanker clashes, and policy reversal
• Deadly attacks on US troops and expanding regional war
• Oil markets whipsaw on escalation and mediation

From Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Fee Gambit to Deadly US–Iran Strikes and $90 Oil
The contest for control of the Strait of Hormuz has rapidly escalated from an economic gambit over shipping fees into a lethal military confrontation threatening global oil supplies.

§Fee demand and first strikes

In mid‑July, US President Donald Trump demanded a 20% fee on all cargoes passing through the Strait of Hormuz, tying economic pressure to security in the vital waterway. As Iran responded by targeting tankers with cruise missiles, the US answered with air strikes on Iranian assets around the strait.

§Blockade, tanker clashes, and policy reversal

Within days, the confrontation widened into direct clashes at sea. Under a renewed Iranian blockade, the US hit a tanker heading for Iran’s Kharg Island, underscoring how military skirmishes over the narrow shipping lane were beginning to endanger global energy flows.

Facing mounting regional alarm, Trump then signalled a shift, saying the US would abandon the proposed Strait of Hormuz cargo fee and instead pursue “Gulf investment” as an alternative approach. Even as he backed away from the fees plan, the US military had already launched its seventh wave of strikes, reflecting how far the situation had moved beyond economic leverage to open conflict.

§Deadly attacks on US troops and expanding regional war

The battle intensified further when Tehran launched attacks on Gulf states, prompting US strikes on Iran after two American troops were killed in Jordan, turning the contest for the strait into a broader regional fight. The US later reported multiple waves of retaliatory strikes aimed at Iranian military facilities and missile and drone sites.

By late July, Washington had carried out a ninth consecutive wave of strikes on Iran as American troop deaths mounted in Jordan and Iraq. Iran’s health ministry said at least 50 people had been killed and more than 500 injured in US attacks since late June, while Trump reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, further tightening the chokehold on maritime trade.

§Oil markets whipsaw on escalation and mediation

With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz increasingly at risk, oil prices surged almost 25% in July, Brent crude briefly touching $90 a barrel as Iran hit multiple tankers. Prices later eased after Tehran said it had received proposals from mediators seeking to halt the war, highlighting how diplomatic signals now move in tandem with missiles and market screens.

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