Donald Trump has claimed that the US and Iran are launching a ‘joint venture’ in the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran prepares to rake in $1 million per vessel.
Trump announced last night that Iran has agreed to a two-week ceasefire and will reopen the crucial waterway while a 10-point peace plan is considered by both sides.
The exact terms have not been agreed but Iran wants to charge tolls of up to $1 million on ships that pass through the Strait during the two-week period, an unnamed Middle East official told the Associated Press.
Trump appeared to welcome the toll idea on Wednesday, telling ABC: ‘We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it – also securing it from lots of other people.
‘It’s a beautiful thing.’
The vital Strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows has now become known as the ‘Tehran Tollbooth’.
Ship owners go through a complex and expensive process of negotiation.
The ships must inform intermediary companies linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of the ship’s cargo, destination, and ultimate owner.
Iran then charges a ‘toll’ of at least $1 barrel – and this must be paid in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency.
The average rate for a single oil tanker is $2million. If everything is approved, IRGC boats will finally provide an escort into and out of the ‘tollbooth’.
Some analysts believe it could make as much as $500billion in five years.