President Donald Trump will deliver a primetime address to the nation on Thursday evening, the White House confirmed on Monday, as the United States and Iran exchange their most intense military strikes since a fragile April ceasefire. The announcement, made via Trump’s Truth Social platform, did not specify the speech’s content, but it follows within hours of Washington declaring itself “the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz” and unveiling plans to reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports while levying a 20 percent fee on all cargo transiting the waterway. The US military stated the blockade would take effect at 2000 GMT on Tuesday.

Viewed from Washington, the measures represent a sharp escalation in economic and military pressure on Tehran. Trump asserted on social media that the United States would be reimbursed for providing safety and security in the strait, a strategic chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes. The declaration challenges the international legal framework that guarantees freedom of navigation in the strait, and it comes as the US military confirmed striking dozens of targets inside Iran on Sunday. The last time Trump addressed the nation in a televised speech was on 1 April, when he offered the first full public justification for the US-Israeli military campaign that began with strikes on 28 February.

Iranian officials immediately rejected any US role in managing the strait. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Iran has historically safeguarded the passage and would continue to do so, adding that a “fair” rate for transit services should apply, while dismissing the 20 percent levy as excessive. A spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command stated that Tehran “under no circumstances will allow the United States to interfere” in the waterway’s management. The diplomatic sparring coincided with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claiming attacks on US military facilities and interests in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. Air raid sirens were reported across Bahrain, and Kuwait’s military said its air defences intercepted hostile aerial targets, while Jordan’s armed forces also responded to incoming threats.

The confrontation has rattled global energy markets and raised insurance costs for shipping, with analysts in London noting that any sustained disruption to Hormuz traffic would have immediate consequences for Asian and European crude supplies. The blockade and transit fee, if enforced, would mark a departure from decades of US policy that prioritised freedom of navigation in the Gulf. The upcoming address is expected to outline the administration’s rationale for these steps and its broader strategy in a conflict that has already drawn in regional states. The speech is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, with no indication from the White House of any parallel diplomatic initiative.