U.S. President Donald Trump has announced his decision to drop a controversial proposal to impose a 20% tariff on commercial vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, the administration plans to secure massive trade and investment agreements with Persian Gulf states to offset the costs of maintaining regional security.
The policy reversal came on Tuesday, just 24 hours after Trump initially threatened the transit tax. In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday, Trump had declared that the U.S. would act as the “Guardians of the Strait of Hormuz” and demand a fee equivalent to 20% of the cargo value of passing ships.
On Tuesday, however, Trump posted that he had reconsidered the toll after engaging in “very productive conversations” with Middle Eastern leaders. He claimed that regional “kings and emirs” had proposed direct bilateral trade and investment deals with the United States as an alternative, promising “historic levels” of investment that would bring factories and manufacturing equipment to the U.S. while creating millions of well-paying American jobs.
Despite backing away from the shipping tax, Trump maintained a highly aggressive stance against Tehran. He lauded the “awesome military power” demonstrated by the U.S. Armed Forces, specifically praising Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and military commanders.
Read more about this topic: Iran War: Trump threatens to suspend talks if Tehran imposes tolls in Hormuz
He claimed that the U.S. military has successfully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to all international shipping, except for Iranian vessels. The President accused the Iranian leadership of being “deceitful, violent, and wicked” and vowed to enforce a total blockade on all ships entering, leaving, or carrying cargo linked to Iranian ports.
Trump also repeated hardline rhetoric regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions, stating that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.” In his social media posts, Trump claimed that the days of Iranian authorities “murdering hundreds of thousands of people, including 52,000 protesters,” were over.
The figure cited by the U.S. President is unverified and vastly exceeds existing international estimates regarding casualties from the widespread anti-government protests that shook Iran between late December 2025 and January 2026.
The diplomatic and military maneuvering comes amidst heightened regional volatility. While the U.S. conducted a fresh wave of preemptive airstrikes inside Iran this week to prevent attacks on commercial shipping, Tehran retaliated by targeting Washington’s regional allies.
Read more about this topic: Trump confirms deal with Iran and reopening of Hormuz (with video)
This cycle of violence severely threatens the survival of both the fragile April 8 ceasefire and the subsequent memorandum of understanding signed in June.
