[Anchor]
Amid ongoing military clashes between the United States and Iran, President Trump has declared that he will re-blockade the Strait of Hormuz. This move is intended to exert strong pressure on Iran. However, it is also causing a stir as he announced that other commercial vessels will be charged a 20% toll based on the value of their cargo.
Reporter Kim Yongtae has the story.
[Reporter]
The U.S. Central Command announced that it has conducted night airstrikes against Iran for three consecutive days.
The U.S. military claimed that these strikes would weaken the capabilities of Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz.
The military released footage of the attack, stating that three Corsair unmanned surface vessels (USVs) struck an Iranian naval base. This marks the first time the U.S. military has deployed the Corsair maritime drone in actual combat.
Amid the continued airstrikes, President Trump has even declared a re-blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The move is intended to cut off Iran's financial lifeline by blocking vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, effectively returning the situation to the tension that existed before the memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed.
The U.S. military has announced that the blockade will resume at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow, July 15 (Korea Standard Time).
[Trump / President of the United States: There is a fact that no one knows, we had an agreement. But Iran broke it. We will protect the strait, and we will probably be the ones operating it. We will be the guardians of the strait.]
While Trump stated that all countries except Iran would be free to use the strait, he added that they would be compensated with 20% of their cargo in exchange for security guarantees.
This is interpreted as an intention to collect 20% of the value of the cargo carried by vessels as a toll.
Given that the U.S. has historically criticized the imposition of tolls on international waterways, this plan is expected to face significant international criticism.
Trump stated that he would continue to strike Iran hard tomorrow, criticizing the previous MOU as a kind of test that Iran failed to respect.
(Video Editing: Park Chun-bae)
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