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A ceasefire brought calm—but now a new dispute is brewing. TODAY YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT

With the Middle East conflict on pause, the ceasefire eases the worry of several countries who need to go through the Strait of Hormuz to get oil. However, reports are now emerging that Iran is allegedly charging roughly $2 million (£1.484 million) in transit fees from vessels crossing the waterway.

Before the US-Iran war, there was free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz that carried a fifth of all the world's oil supply from the Persian Gulf. But with reports of these charges, US President Donald Trump responded by saying that it was not part of the agreement the United States had with Iran, BBC reported.

'There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now,' he added.

However, Trump's claims conflict with the alleged original agreements in the two-week ceasefire reported by the Associated Press. In that report, the two-week ceasefire reportedly includes allowing Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran plans to use its collections for reconstruction. As for Oman, there is no clarity on where it will use the money collected.

Trump's Joint Venture Comments

Curiously, Trump came up with the idea of doing a joint venture with Iran because of the earning potential. While he also added that it was a way of securing the Hormuz Strait, the huge revenue from toll fees was hard to ignore.

'We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture,' Trump said to ABC News' Jonathan Karl. 'It's a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people. It's a beautiful thing.'

Given the sequence, Trump could have changed his tune after learning that toll fees would be charged for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The US Commander-in-Chief also had that in mind, suggesting that the United States could also impose its own tolls on vessels trying to transit through the channel.

Tolling System Illegal and Dangerous

Beyond the revenue opportunity that could be collected from the tolling system, not all are aligned with the idea. Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled it as illegal and dangerous to the world and believed that US and European partners should meet first before allowing the system to be in place.

Bfeing a channel that allowed free and safe passage before the US-Iran war, Rubio had reason to be concerned. The introduction of tolls is likely to disrupt global commerce, increase fuel prices and most likely heighten geopolitical tensions.

This only proves that while the ceasefire has calmed the Middle East conflict, it also shows the fragile nature of the truce. US Vice President JD Vance is aware of this and the matter is likely to be among the topics that will be discussed on 11 April in Islamabad.

The US Vice President left on Friday, 10 April, with special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and top negotiators for mediated talks this weekend with hopes of making the ceasefire permanent.

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