BlockBeats News, July 14th, according to the U.S. media outlet Semafor, a White House official stated that President Trump is "very serious" about his plan to impose a 20% toll on goods passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a plan he has been wanting to advance for months.

Trump has long been interested in imposing such a toll, having questioned in April why his administration "doesn't" do it and threatening to implement the fee in June if an agreement with Iran is not reached within 60 days. However, Trump has not always acted on his ideas, and up until this week, he has refused to formally announce the plan — in part due to opposition from within his inner circle. "This has always been what he wanted to do, but some have tried to convince him to give it up,"

a White House official said. "For him, this has always been his gut decision, and he has just come back to it." It is currently unclear how this fee system associated with restarting the strait blockade will work, and it is also unclear whether the U.S. has even consulted with Gulf countries on this matter. According to the official, the details of the plan are still being finalized.