Trump wants Strait of Hormuz open 'without limitation, including tolls' during Iran ceasefire: White House

The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran depends on the Strait of Hormuz being opened for ships "without limitation, including tolls," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.

President Donald Trump wants the strait, which has been effectively blocked by Iran during the war, opened up "immediately, without limitation," Leavitt said at a press briefing.

She was asked if Iran would cross a "red line" by charging ships to pass through the vital oil-shipping route, as it is reportedly planning to do.

Trump's "plain language" demanding the immediate reopening of the strait "should be taken at face value," Leavitt replied.

Iranian state news agency Fars reported earlier Wednesday that oil tanker traffic through the strait has been halted following an Israeli attack on Lebanon that has shaken the hours-old ceasefire.

Leavitt called that reporting "false."

"This is a case of, what they're saying publicly is different privately," she said. "We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today, and I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly and safely."

At least two vessels have passed through the strait in the hours since Iran and the U.S. reached a two-week ceasefire deal Tuesday night, ship-tracking service MarineTraffic said Wednesday morning.

But those vessels are described as bulk carriers, which carry dry cargo, not oil.

Overall traffic through the vital waterway has not picked up beyond the slow trickle it has experienced throughout the war, experts and industry professionals said.

Uncertainty and confusion in the maritime industry remain high, despite Iran's assurance on Tuesday that vessels will be able to safely navigate the strait during the ceasefire.

That confusion stems in part from Tehran's caveat that passage through the strait is only possible "via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration to technical limitations."

Leavitt did not directly respond when asked at Wednesday's briefing who currently controls the strait.

"We expect that the strait will be opened immediately," she said. "As I said earlier, we have seen an uptick in traffic in the strait, and it's something that we are monitoring minute by minute, hour by hour as the days go on."

The potential for Iran to heavily toll ships is a key sticking point, a marine insurance executive, who did not want to be named on the record, told CNBC.

Iran is planning to demand that shipping firms pay tolls in cryptocurrency to let their oil tankers through the strait, the Financial Times reported Wednesday morning.

Iran will also be inspecting each ship for weapons, the FT reported, citing a spokesperson for Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical products exporters' union.

In the meantime, shipping companies largely remain in a holding pattern.

"We have no information about how we could transit the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire. ... We are not in contact with the Iranian authorities," a shipping executive with boats currently stuck in the Persian Gulf told CNBC.

"The most important for us is the safety of our crew members, and if we were deciding to transit, we need absolute guarantees about the safety of our crew members," the executive said.

U.S. officials, boasting that the ceasefire agreement represents total victory over Iran, insisted Wednesday morning that the path for ships is clear.

"The strait is open," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press briefing. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, asked at the same briefing if the strait is open right now, said, "I believe so, based on the diplomatic negotiation."

Trump said in a Truth Social post overnight that the U.S. "will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz."

"There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process," he wrote. "We'll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just 'hangin' around' in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will."

The post represented a stunning turnaround from Trump, who days earlier threatened to attack Iran's civilian infrastructure unless its regime agreed to "Open the Fuckin' Strait." On Tuesday morning, Trump threatened that a "whole civilization will die" by Tuesday night if the U.S. and Iran could not clinch a deal that involved reopening the strait.

Less than two hours before his deadline, Trump announced that he would suspend the planned attacks for two weeks, "subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz."

The first round of negotiations during the ceasefire is set to take place Saturday morning in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, Leavitt confirmed Wednesday. The U.S. negotiating team will be led by Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and advisor.

MarineTraffic said in an X post Wednesday morning that two ships — the Greek-owned NJ Earth and the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach — transited the strait overnight.

Those vessel movements don't necessarily represent a post-ceasefire breakthrough.

Between 100 and 120 commercial vessels, mostly oil tankers, passed through the strait each day before the war, according to data from Kpler. Traffic plunged to just a handful of ships per day as Iran attacked commercial vessels, effectively closing the main artery for 20% of the world's oil supply.

Ship transits through the strait started picking up before the ceasefire. Some 72 vessels made the trip during the week of March 30 through April 5, according to data from Lloyd's List. It was the busiest week since the war broke out on Feb. 28, though traffic was still 90% below normal volumes, the data showed.

About 80% of those ships were connected to Iran and 13% were owned by China, according to Lloyd's List.

MarineTraffic's post notes that hundreds of vessels remain in the region, effectively stranded since the war began.

Traffic has not picked up since the ceasefire was announced, said Matt Smith, an oil analyst at Kpler.

"We may just see 10-15 [vessels] given that Iran is still vetting who goes through: that would be a similar pace to that seen in recent days," Smith told CNBC.

Shipping giant Maersk in a statement celebrated the ceasefire and the potential for reopening the strait, but noted, "Information and details available remain very limited and we are working with urgency to obtain further clarity."

"The ceasefire may create transit opportunities, but it does not yet provide full maritime certainty and we need to understand all potential conditions attached," the company's statement said.

"At this point, we take a cautious approach, and we are not making any changes to specific services," it added.