President Donald Trump reinstated the U.S. Navy blockade in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, as the American military for the first time ever used sea drones in combat.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.”
Earlier Monday on “Fox & Friends,” Trump disputed Iran’s claims to have closed the critical waterway.
“We’re taking over the strait. They have nothing. They’ve got nothing,” Trump, 80, said.
“So we’re just going to hit them very hard, and we’re going to, we’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it,” the president added.
“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 … We guarded it for nothing, and now we’re going to guard it – we’re going to get paid for guarding it.”
WATCH:
WATCH: President Trump Reveals America will Become the GUARDIAN ANGEL of the Strait of Hormuz and get Paid to Protect it. pic.twitter.com/Fsn0SedGEI
— Judge Jeanine (@JJeanine50971) July 13, 2026
U.S. Central Command stressed: “The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway. U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations. Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing.”
The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway. U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary… pic.twitter.com/FS3TUBOZEj
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 12, 2026
The U.S. military also released footage of it destroying a submarine and ship-maintenance facility in Iran using multiple one-way attack surface drones.
Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea… pic.twitter.com/bOM2kmgRxz
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 13, 2026
CENTCOM indicated: “Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations. Last night’s strikes degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping.”
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