President Trump on Tuesday backed off his proposed 20% toll for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in favor of investment deals that Persian Gulf states will ink with the US.
Trump in a Truth Social post said the decision was “[b]ased on highly productive conversations with Middle East Leadership.”
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“Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” he added.
Trump also claimed that exports of oil were “flowing like never before” thanks to recent US airstrikes on Iran, and “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.”
“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,” he noted.
Trump announced the new tolling scheme on Monday, declaring that the US would be the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz and would collect a reimbursement equal to 20% of the cargo’s value. One industry expert predicted that the fee could be worth nearly $200 billion annually.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
