US launches air strikes as Iran targets tankers with cruise missiles
Donald Trump demands 20% fee on cargoes passing through Strait of Hormuz
Source: Financial Times
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DW NOTE
The Strait closed for four months, reopened three weeks ago under ceasefire terms, and has now closed again under live fire. Trump's 20% transit fee — announced while missiles were in flight — means he's pricing passage through a waterway the US neither controls nor can evidently keep open. Oil jumped 12-13% last week on supply concerns; it will move further if this isn't contained in days. The difference between February and now is that global demand has already dropped 5 million barrels per day year-on-year, so there's less cushion to absorb another prolonged closure.