'We'll get paid for guarding it': Trump says US is 'taking over' Strait of Hormuz

Amid rising tensions with Iran, US President Donald Trump has said the United States should take control of the Strait of Hormuz and be compensated for securing one of the world's most strategically important shipping routes.

The Strait of Hormuz carries nearly one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments, making it a vital passage for international energy supplies.

'We're taking over the Strait'

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump claimed the United States was "taking over" the Strait of Hormuz and said Iran was in a weak position.

"We're taking over the Strait. They have nothing... yesterday, they had an 11-hour meeting... and everything was agreed to yesterday, and they leave the room, and then they call back and they say, 'we had to make a couple of changes'... for 47 years, they've been tapping people along... this should've been done 47 years ago," Trump said.

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He also accused Iran of repeatedly backing out of agreements and warned of a strong US response.

"It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people — and so we're just going to hit them very hard. They're a bad group of people. They've been this way for a long time," he added.

US-Iran conflict intensifies

Trump's remarks came as fighting between the United States and Iran intensified, with both sides exchanging missile and drone attacks over the weekend and into Monday.

Tehran claimed it had targeted American military facilities across the Gulf and insisted that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, a development that pushed global oil prices higher.

Iran claims strikes on US military facilities

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had launched attacks on US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for American strikes.

The Guards also claimed to have destroyed radar systems in Oman and targeted fuel storage tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan.

US targets Iranian military infrastructure

The US military said it carried out strikes on multiple Iranian military targets on Sunday.

According to the US, the operation targeted Iran's air defence systems, coastal radar installations, missile and drone capabilities, and small naval vessels using aircraft, warships and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Fresh explosions reported near Strait of Hormuz

Fresh explosions were reported on Monday in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, located along the Strait of Hormuz, as well as on nearby Qeshm Island.

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, citing local residents, reported the blasts, although Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims.

Meanwhile, Bahrain said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed several Iranian missiles and drones launched during attacks early on Monday.