White House downplays Trump toll proposal with Iran

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified President Trump’s proposal that would let Iran accept tolls of ships going through the Strait of Hormuz.

“That’s not something we’ve said that we’ve definitively accepted. The joint venture is something that was proposed by the president, but he was very clear in his statement last night: He wants to see the strait reopened immediately, without limitation, and that’s something we’re going to hold them to,” Ms. Levitt told The Washington Times at Wednesday’s press briefing.

She said the proposal would be discussed over the next two weeks. 

Mr. Trump in an earlier interview said he was considering a “joint venture” in which the U.S. and Iran would charge tolls for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for oil tankers and a key point of leverage in the Middle East conflict.

“We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people,” Mr. Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Wednesday. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Mr. Trump weighed in after he struck a two-week ceasefire with Iran that would stop U.S. airstrikes on the Islamic republic while Tehran agrees to allow traffic through the strait.

The president said the U.S. would play a role in monitoring traffic through Hormuz and rebuilding Iran.

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.