President Donald Trump replaced his proposed shipping charge with what he described as massive trade and investment agreements from Gulf states while limiting the U.S. naval blockade to vessels serving Iranian ports or carrying Iranian cargo.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States will not impose a proposed 20% charge on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, replacing the fee with trade and investment commitments negotiated with Gulf states as American forces renewed strikes against Iran and moved to enforce a targeted naval blockade.
The decision marked a rapid change from Trump’s Monday proposal to charge commercial vessels for using the strategically important waterway under U.S. military protection.
Rather than applying the fee to all cargo, Trump said the United States will block ships traveling to or from Iranian ports, as well as vessels carrying Iranian cargo. Other commercial traffic will be permitted to use the strait.
Trump attributed the reopening of the shipping lane to the U.S. military and praised senior defense officials responsible for operations in the region.
“Oil is flowing like never before, thanks to the awesome Power of the United States Military,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “A special salute to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, and Commander of the United States Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper. Because of them, and all members of the Most Powerful Military anywhere in the World, BY FAR, the Strait of Hormuz is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran — and that is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of TOTAL DESTRUCTION.”
The president said the revised policy followed discussions with leaders in the Middle East and would substitute direct investment in the United States for the proposed reimbursement charge.
“We will therefore have a FULL Blockade, but only on Ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo,” Trump continued. “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump did not identify the participating Gulf states, provide a combined dollar value for their commitments or disclose when the agreements would be completed.
He said the investments would benefit the participating countries while directing additional capital, manufacturing activity and employment into the United States.
“Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” Trump said.
“As everyone is aware, we have the largest Dollar Investment into the United States, of any Country in History, but these new Investments will make that Number even larger, and we will see Factories, Plants, and Equipment pour into the United States at Historic levels, which will create additional millions of High Paying AMERICAN Jobs!” he added.
Trump concluded by linking the blockade and military campaign to his administration’s broader objectives of ending Iranian violence and preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“The days of Iran killing hundreds of thousands of people, including 52,000 protestors, are OVER and, most importantly, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!” Trump wrote.
The policy change came as the United States launched another round of strikes across Iran on Tuesday, escalating fighting that had largely subsided following an April ceasefire and a preliminary agreement reached in June.
American forces struck targets in several locations, including the Iranian port cities of Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. The U.S. military said the operation was intended to “degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.”
Local authorities reported that four sites in Bushehr were struck. The city is home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant. Additional U.S. strikes reportedly hit an Iranian border region near Iraq and Kuwait.
At least 28 people have been killed in renewed U.S. attacks since last week, according to a tally compiled from Iranian news reports and official announcements.
The strikes followed renewed attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran hit two ships in the waterway, killing one crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates.
A Norwegian tanker was also damaged early Tuesday by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off Oman’s coast, according to crisis-response company MTI Network.
The maritime attacks and subsequent U.S. military action contributed to renewed disruption of traffic through one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Trump has said a negotiated settlement remains possible, but the scale of the latest attacks and the restoration of the blockade have raised questions about whether the preliminary June arrangement can survive.
Iran responded to the U.S. strikes by launching missiles and drones toward several countries in the region.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked Bahrain, including a residential building used by American forces and other facilities.
Bahrain said its defenses intercepted “several treacherous aerial attacks launched by Iran” and accused Tehran of deliberately placing civilians at risk. Explosions and warning sirens were reported in Manama.
Iran also directed attacks toward Jordan, where authorities said four Iranian missiles were shot down.
The Revolutionary Guards said those strikes targeted American forces at an air base and called on Jordanians to make a “serious demand for the removal of the occupying American bases from the region.”
Iranian officials maintain that their military operations are aimed at U.S. interests rather than the Gulf states themselves. Iran’s military command spokesman, however, warned that cooperation between regional governments and the United States would be treated as “an act of war.”
Trump formally notified Congress last week that the United States had resumed military hostilities against Iran, according to confirmation provided by the White House. That notification gives the Pentagon an additional 60 days to conduct operations without obtaining congressional authorization.
Iran began restricting passage through the Strait of Hormuz after joint U.S.-Israeli attacks in February. Washington responded by blockading Iranian ports, though both sides eased their restrictions after reaching a preliminary agreement in June.
Commercial traffic again slowed sharply as tensions returned.
Only seven commodity vessels traveled through the strait Monday, according to maritime tracking company Kpler, making it the quietest day for commodity crossings since June 13. The count did not include ships using a route along the coast of Oman that had not been approved by Iran.
Before reversing course Tuesday, Trump had announced that the United States was “taking over” the strait and would impose a 20% levy on cargo moving through it.
The proposal drew criticism abroad. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned the United States against pursuing what he called a policy of “piracy.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by mocking both the size of the proposed fee and Washington’s claim to be the waterway’s principal protector.
Araghchi wrote on X that Trump was “absolutely right” that the country guaranteeing safe passage should receive compensation, but he argued that Iran could perform that role for less.
“20% is of course too much,” Araghchi said.
The United States had previously opposed Iranian proposals to collect tolls from ships passing through the strait, arguing that international law generally protects unimpeded transit through international waterways.
Trump also threatened further military action against Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site near Natanz where Western intelligence agencies suspect Iran may be constructing an undeclared uranium-enrichment facility.
“Tell the Iranians to be ready,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “Let them know we’re coming (and) there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”
Trump had separately declared on Truth Social that the United States would become “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” framing the original 20% fee as reimbursement for American protection of global shipping.
The president’s revised plan preserves the military enforcement component while removing the universal cargo charge. Under the policy described Tuesday, U.S. forces will permit non-Iranian commercial vessels to travel through the strait while maintaining a complete blockade against ships connected to Iranian ports or cargo.
U.S. Central Command had announced that the renewed blockade of Iranian ports would take effect at 8 p.m. GMT Tuesday.
Oil markets reacted sharply to the resumption of hostilities. Prices rose more than 5% Tuesday after already climbing the previous day, reflecting concern that attacks on ships, port restrictions and regional missile exchanges could further reduce traffic through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz serves as a critical passage for global oil and natural gas shipments, making even temporary disruptions capable of affecting fuel prices, transportation costs and international markets.
Trump’s decision eliminates the immediate prospect of a 20% levy being applied to all cargo. His administration will instead seek economic compensation through Gulf investment agreements while relying on American military power to keep the waterway open to most international shipping.
The scope, value and timetable of those investments remain undisclosed, as do the enforcement procedures that will be used to distinguish Iranian cargo from other shipments.
The announcement nevertheless establishes the administration’s revised strategy: continued military control of the strait, a targeted blockade of Iranian commerce and expanded Gulf investment in American factories, equipment and jobs rather than a direct toll on every commercial vessel.
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