WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States, not Iran, should charge tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
"What about us charging tolls?" Trump said at a press conference at the White House. "I'd rather do that than let them (Iranians) have them."
Trump stressed that reopening the strait must be part of any deal to end the war with Iran.
"We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything," Trump said.
Shortly after the United States and Israel began large-scale airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Iran effectively closed the critical global energy waterway.
In late March, Iran's parliament reportedly approved a plan to collect tolls from vessels transiting the strait.
At Monday's press conference, Trump threatened that Iran could be "taken out" in one night and that night "might" be Tuesday night, the deadline Trump set for Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. ■
