[Anchor]

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the resumption of a naval blockade against Iran and declared that vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be charged a transit fee equivalent to 20 percent of their cargo value. The bombshell announcement, which effectively scraps the previous memorandum of understanding and shifts the collection of transit fees from Iran to the United States, is causing significant repercussions.

We begin with reporter Gwak Sang-eun.

[Reporter]

On July 13 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced the resumption of a naval blockade targeting Iran.

This move aims to tighten the financial grip on the Iranian regime by reinstating the naval blockade that had been lifted following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on June 17.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: No ship trading with Iran will be allowed to pass. Ships from other countries may pass. It is a powerful naval blockade.]

The U.S. military has announced that the blockade will resume at 5:00 a.m. on July 15 (KST).

With armed clashes occurring over the Strait of Hormuz, the 60-day ceasefire agreement has been broken. With the resumption of oil export sanctions and the naval blockade, the confrontation between the two sides has returned to the situation that existed before the memorandum of understanding was signed.

Trump dismissed concerns, stating that the memorandum was merely intended to test Iran.

Trump also announced that commercial vessels passing through the strait would be charged 20 percent of their cargo value as a security fee.

He identified Middle Eastern oil-producing nations as the countries that should pay.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: We are protecting the wealthiest region in the world. Since we are spending money to do this, it is time to get something back in return.]

The United States had previously strongly criticized Iran's attempts to impose transit fees.

[Marco Rubio/U.S. Secretary of State (June 24): The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway. No country can impose transit fees or usage charges on an international waterway.]

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has stated its firm opposition, declaring that Trump's announcement to impose transit fees lacks any legal basis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying, "20 percent is too much; Iran will be fair," using Trump's remarks as a justification to legitimize Iran's own collection of transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz.

(Video Editing: Park Chun-bae, Design: Choi Ha-neul)