Trump opposes Iran toll plan for Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected Iran's reported plan to impose tolls on shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the United States wants the critical waterway "free."

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital shipping route for oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other commodities. Iran's toll proposal threatens to disrupt global energy markets and derail nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Iran's Ambassador to France Mohammad Amin-Nejad said Iran is in talks with Oman to establish a permanent toll system for ships transiting the strait, according to Bloomberg. The waterway is one of the world's most strategically critical shipping lanes.

Trump addressed the reports during a White House press availability Thursday. "We want it free. We don't want tolls," he said. The president also asserted that the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports and vessels had been entirely successful. "The blockade has been 100 percent effective," Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a separate meeting with reporters, added that an Iranian toll regime would doom ongoing nuclear talks. "It would be unacceptable and it would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible," Rubio said.

Trump also escalated warnings over Iran's nuclear program, vowing severe consequences if Tehran does not back down. "We are going to either make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon, or we are going to have to do something very drastic," he said.

On the subject of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, Trump said the United States plans to seize the material entirely. "We will get it. We don't want it. We will probably destroy it after we get it, but we are not going to let them have it," he said.

The standoff comes as American and Iranian officials conduct diplomatic negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program — talks now complicated by the toll dispute, The Korea Times reported Thursday.