U.S. President Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News on the 21st, once again issued a tough stance toward Iran, suggesting that if negotiations with Iran fail to reach a consensus, the United States will seize the Strait of Hormuz if necessary and impose a 20% fee on ships transporting crude oil.
This remark not only highlights the U.S. strategic layout in the Middle East but may also trigger new rounds of concern both within and outside the region over energy supply chains and geopolitical stability.
In the interview, Trump recounted the content of his phone call with the Iranian side on the evening of Saturday (the 20th), issuing a stern warning to Tehran, explicitly stating “do not close the Strait,” otherwise Iran would “no longer have a country.”
Trump further elaborated that if the situation develops to a necessary stage, the United States “might take over the Strait of Hormuz” and carry out “a severe strike.” The “toll collection” concept he proposed is essentially a strategy linking national security interests with economic interests, aiming to pressure Iran through economic means and force it to make concessions in negotiations.
Trump defined the current memorandum of understanding reached between the U.S. and Iran as merely an “extension of the ceasefire,” rather than a final agreement, indicating that he believes the relationship between the two sides remains in a state of high uncertainty. He emphasized that if Iran fails to show “serious commitment” in future negotiations, the United States will retain multiple response strategies, including military options.
Additionally, Trump posted on his social media platform, once again targeting Iran’s “proxy” actions in the Lebanon region, and threatened: “Iran must immediately stop its ‘proxy’ actions in Lebanon, otherwise the United States will once again launch a severe strike against Iran, just like last week, and it will be even more severe.”
This remark not only views Iran’s regional influence as a threat to U.S. interests but also suggests that the United States may intervene in other conflict points in the Middle East to curb Iran’s expansion. Overall, Trump’s series of statements have added more uncertainty to an already complex geopolitical landscape, and their subsequent impact warrants close attention.
According to Iranian media reports on the 22nd, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Baghaei stated that Iran and the United States reached an agreement document after 18 hours of negotiations, and the relevant text will be released by the two mediating parties, Qatar and Pakistan.
On the 22nd, Baghaei said that the Iran-U.S. negotiations discussed the groundwork for launching final agreement talks. All parties agreed that various technical teams will continue to work on issues needed for the effective implementation of the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding. “The work of the negotiation team has concluded here.”
Baghaei stated that Iran and the U.S. discussed topics such as issuing licenses for Iranian oil sales and unfreezing Iranian assets, achieving good progress.
Baghaei said: “In a sense, we had a very long day today. The talks started from Sunday morning. During the quadrilateral talks, the United States issued threatening statements, leading Iran to announce that it was unwilling to continue the quadrilateral talks under such circumstances.” He also stated that Qatar and Pakistan are committed to continuing the negotiations, but Iran will not proceed with negotiations in the form of quadrilateral talks.
Regarding Iran’s renewed threat to close the Strait of Hormuz due to attacks on Lebanon, the U.S. Central Command stated on the 20th that Iran has not controlled or closed the Strait of Hormuz, and 55 commercial ships have already passed through the strait, carrying over 17 million barrels of oil to global markets.
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