In a series of statements on July 14, 2026, President Donald Trump declared: ‘We will control the Strait of Hormuz, and probably manage it. We will become the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz. We might even call ourselves the “angels” of the Strait of Hormuz. We guarded it for 50 years, and we were never paid for it. We guarded it for free, and now we will make money.’
Analysis: This statement exhibits a mix of megalomania and historical revisionism. Trump’s claim that the U.S. has ‘guarded’ the Strait ‘for free’ for 50 years ignores the complex geopolitical reality of international maritime law and the strategic necessity of the U.S. Navy’s presence, which has historically been maintained to ensure global oil market stability—a primary U.S. interest—rather than as a charitable service to other nations. The use of the term ‘angels’ to describe a military force enforcing a naval blockade is a grotesque rhetorical flourish that masks the aggressive nature of the policy. Furthermore, the claim that the U.S. will ‘make money’ from this guardianship represents a transactional view of international security that contradicts established norms of freedom of navigation. The subsequent pivot from a 20% ‘reimbursement fee’ to ‘massive investment deals’ from Gulf states suggests an inconsistency in his policy implementation, likely driven by diplomatic pushback from regional allies who viewed the initial toll proposal as a form of piracy.
Source: SprinterPress, 2026-07-14.
Be First to Comment