Strait of Hormuz dispute: Trump says there will be no tolls, Iran says it will be free for two months [U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement]

The United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war and completed the top-level signatures, but within a day their positions diverged sharply over whether to collect a "toll" in the Strait of Hormuz, a key point of contention. U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open for free, as it was before the war. Iran, however, countered that the United States had formally recognized its right to impose "maritime service fees" after a 60-day temporary period of free passage. With the full text of the agreement still unpublished, the two sides are interpreting the same wording in completely different ways. There are growing concerns that the issue could become a trigger for renewed physical clashes during future working-level negotiations.
While visiting Évian-les-Bains, France, to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, Trump stressed full freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz during a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the 15th local time. Asked what support he wanted from allies, Trump said, "We won't need much help," adding, "We reached an agreement that the strait will be open, and there will be no tolls."
Vice President of the United States JD Vance also said in a CNBC interview, "The United States expects the Strait of Hormuz to remain open long term without tolls."
Iran, by contrast, is offering the exact opposite interpretation, saying the agreement recognizes its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and its legitimate right to collect fees. Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said at a briefing that, under the agreement with the United States, ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be charged "maritime service fees" rather than "tolls."
Baqaei said, "We are not trying to collect tolls," making clear that Iran intends to charge for essential services it has long sought to provide, including navigation support, environmental protection, and ship insurance. The Iranian government had previously announced plans to establish the Persian Gulf Strait Administration (PGSA), which would oversee traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and had said it intended to impose fees. The United States and other Western countries have opposed the move, viewing it as effectively a paid toll system.
Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency went a step further, claiming that in the final stage of negotiations between the United States and Iran, the MOU wording was revised to emphasize Iran's sovereignty, effectively leading the United States to accept Iran's right to collect fees.
Citing sources, the agency said the final draft explicitly states that "future maritime navigation service management in the Strait of Hormuz will be determined by Iran and Oman," and argued that this means Iran has the right to collect fees. As a result, the prevailing view is that free passage for commercial vessels will be allowed only temporarily for 60 days after the MOU is signed, and that after those 60 days Iran, together with Oman, will manage the strait and begin collecting service fees in earnest.
Senior U.S. officials also acknowledged in briefings that the MOU includes such language, and confirmed that the specific procedures for passage and fee collection after that will need to be discussed further.
With the wording still unpublished and both sides offering different explanations, confusion is growing in markets and the international community. U.S. Congress, which is unhappy with the agreement, hard-liners in Iran, and Israel have all called for the full text of the agreement to be made public.
km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter