⚔️ War & Conflict Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a powerful bargaining chip Despite efforts by U.S. negotiators, Iran says it wants to charge a toll for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. NP NPR News 3 Jul 2026 4 hours ago 1 min read NPR News — 3 July 2026 Text: A− A+ 4 0 0 🎙️ Listen 🌐 Translate 🌐 Translate: 🇬🇧 EN 🇸🇦 AR 🇵🇰 UR 🇮🇳 HI 🇫🇷 FR 🇪🇸 ES 🇩🇪 DE 🇹🇷 TR 🇨🇳 ZH 🇷🇺 RU 🇧🇷 PT ✕ 🎙️ AI Podcast — Two-Host Discussion Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a powerful bargaining chip Kokoro TTS · ~5 min episode · American English voices ✕ 🎤 Voice Selection▼ tap to expand Choose voices for Host A and Host B. Changes take effect on next play. Host A 🟥 Adam (Deep, warm) Michael (Clear, confident) Fenrir (Rich, authoritative) Puck (Bright, energetic) Echo (Smooth, professional) Eric (Friendly, natural) Onyx (Strong, broadcast) Liam (Youthful, conversational) Bella (Warm, expressive) Sarah (Clear, trustworthy) Aoede (Melodic, engaging) Sky (Bright, energetic) Nova (Modern, crisp) George (Classic BBC) Lewis (Refined, calm) Daniel (Polished, clear) Emma (Warm, articulate) Alice (Bright, professional) Lily (Gentle, natural) Alejandro (M, clear) Dora (F, warm) Siwis (F, expressive) Alpha (F, clear) Gongitsune (F, natural) Kumo (M, deep) Xiaobei (F, bright) Yunyang (M, warm) Alpha (F, natural) Omega (M, clear) Sara (F, expressive) Nicola (M, rich) Dora (F, warm) Alex (M, clear) Host B 🟦 Sarah (Clear, trustworthy) Bella (Warm, expressive) Aoede (Melodic, engaging) Sky (Bright, energetic) Nova (Modern, crisp) Adam (Deep, warm) Michael (Clear, confident) Puck (Bright, energetic) Echo (Smooth, professional) Eric (Friendly, natural) Emma (Warm, articulate) Alice (Bright, professional) Lily (Gentle, natural) George (Classic BBC) Lewis (Refined, calm) Dora (F, warm) Alejandro (M, clear) Siwis (F, expressive) Nezuko (F, bright) Tebukuro (F, calm) Kumo (M, deep) Yunxi (F, energetic) Yunyang (M, warm) Omega (M, clear) Alpha (F, natural) Nicola (M, rich) Sara (F, expressive) Alex (M, clear) Dora (F, warm) 🎙️ Regenerate with Selected Voices A Now Speaking — Generating podcast… Synthesising speech — will play automatically when ready… ▶ 0:00 / 0:00 1× Despite efforts by U.S. negotiators, Iran says it wants to charge a toll for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. It's yet another unresolved i Read Full Story at NPR News → Advertisement Irans control Strait Hormuz remains powerful bargaining chip ticker:GE React: 🔥0 😮0 😢0 😡0 ❤️0 🤔0 Read original story at NPR News Sources NPR News Sponsored Related Stories ⚔️ War & Conflict US strikes Iranian sites in Strait of Hormuz Al Jazeera · 6 days ago ⚔️ War & Conflict 164 killed as twin quakes flatten Venezuela NPR News · 8 days ago ⚔️ War & Conflict Ukraine drones hit Crimea oil depots Al Jazeera · 6 days ago ⚔️ War & Conflict Israel opposes Iran deal, strikes Gaza and Lebanon again Al Jazeera · 7 days ago ⚔️ War & Conflict Israel orders troops to stay in southern Lebanon Al Jazeera · 8 days ago ⚔️ War & Conflict US strikes Iran after drone attack on cargo ship BBC World News · 7 days ago