Trump’s Latest Iran Escalation Comes With a Corrupt New Twist

This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. Four and a half months after Donald Trump said his war against Iran would last a matter of weeks, the conflict continues to spiral. After a tenuous ceasefire deal collapsed, Trump announced today that he would reimpose a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports—but with a new twist that looks more than a little corrupt. Let’s get you up to speed. Back up. What’s the latest on the fighting? As we explained last week, the ceasefire fell apart after Iran reportedly shot at commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route it claims control over. The U.S. fired back, and exchanges continued into the weekend. Now Trump says the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports along the strait, which he lifted after the two countries reached their ceasefire deal last month, is back on. So we’re back to where we were before the ceasefire? Not quite. Trump’s blockade comes with a destabilizing new caveat: He wants the U.S. to collect a 20 percent fee on cargo passing through the strait. As of last week, the Navy had secretly been helping ships navigate a southerly route farther from Iran’s coast, apparently for free. But on Fox News this morning, Trump vowed that the U.S. would “get paid for guarding” the waterway. Oil prices spiked after Trump’s announcement, which amounts to a new tax on oil shipments. Before the war, about a fifth of the world’s supply traveled through Hormuz. Is this actually going to happen? Fair question. Trump is constantly making promises, proclamations, and demands—only some of which end up coming true. But it’s not the first time Trump has made this threat. Last month, he hinted that the U.S. might seek to toll the strait if Iran refused to make a peace deal. Now he seems to want to collect. Extortion seems like a pattern for Trump lately. Indeed. Since returning to office, the president has deposed Venezuela’s leader and forced the country to export oil to the U.S. He has charged countries $1 billion fees to join his “Board of Peace,” which is meant to help rebuild Gaza but reportedly receives donations via a JPMorgan account without any transparency requirements. And he jawboned dozens of companies to give the federal government equity, the kind of meddling with private enterprise that Republicans once denounced. Transiting Hormuz used to be free, and Iran’s plan to toll it was previously a sticking point in negotiations. Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared (correctly) that international law forbids countries from levying “tolls or fees on an international waterway.” Now, Trump may just want in on the action. How will he enforce this? That’s part of the mystery! Trump claims the strait is “open” and that “countries will have fair and open use” of it, for a price. In reality, the strait is neither fully open nor under U.S. control. It’s also unclear whether companies or countries will pay the toll. Will the U.S. escort ships, inviting more attacks? Or does Trump plan to escalate the war to try to wrest the waterway from Iran? “We’re taking over the strait,” he told Fox. But like many of Trump’s other declarations about this war, it’s hard to know how seriously to take that. OK! You’re caught up. It’s time to transition into the rest of your night. Here are some recommendations to keep you from doomscrolling: Inside the secretive lab shaping America’s retail landscape: At a Florida lab few have ever seen, a team of researchers is trying to stave off a purported epidemic of shoplifting. If you’ve ever noticed those locks on drugstore shelves, you’ve seen their research at work. But who is this really for, and does it make a difference? Slate’s Alexander Sammon paid the lab a visit and learned more than he bargained for. A behind-the scenes perspective on the Onion’s gloriously unhinged parody: If you could use a laugh, the absurd comedy on offer at the new Infowars might do the trick. Slate’s Lizzie O’Leary chatted with comedian Tim Heidecker about how he’s turning Alex Jones’ conspiracy empire on its head. (You can also watch their conversation on YouTube!) A cleaning tip to liberate your home from sticker tyranny: If you have a kiddo in your life, you know that stickers can magically appear on just about every surface within their arm’s reach. Or maybe you’ve experienced the unique frustration of peeling off a price tag and ending up with a stubborn gooey patch? Thankfully, Jenée Desmond-Harris has discovered a satisfying way to get rid of stickers and their gross residue once and for all. A World Cup prediction: As Jeremy Stahl has watched this tournament progress, he’s become convinced that he knows how it will end. All signs point to one team winning it all. RIP, Sam Neill: The New Zealand actor died unexpectedly today at 78. If you’re going to watch one scene of his, I recommend this iconic one from Jurassic Park, the 1993 movie that made Neill famous. His portrayal of a paleontologist suddenly discovering that the creatures he’s studied in rock and bone have come to life is just masterful. Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your evening!