Trump backs off fee threat for Hormuz as blockade resume, says Gulf countries will invest
WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump is backing away from a proposal to impose a 20% fee on ships seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz as the United States’ naval blockade on the waterway resumes. Instead, the president pointed to trade deals and investment as a way to keep the vital oil corridor open.
More than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are operating across the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command. (TNND)
More than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are operating across the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.
Trump said Gulf countries would invest in the United States, calling it “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.” He said that approach would avoid charging ships to travel through the strait, and that multiple countries called him asking to back off the fee.
They would love to invest more money in the United States at record amounts and that would be very acceptable and this way there’s no fee. I don’t like the concept of a fee, but at the same time it’s not fair that we’re protecting this Strait for the entire world, protecting it for China, protecting it for everybody,” Trump said.
The Strait of Hormuz handles around one-fifth of the global oil supply, and both the U.S. and Iran are seeking some form of control over the waterway.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded to the fee idea in a post on X, writing: “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair”
The Trump administration had previously said tolls were not allowed in the waterway.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Iran has shown no interest in honoring existing provisions related to the strait.
In regards to the Strait of Hormuz, there is a memo of understanding but Iran seems to have no interest whatsoever in maintaining any of those provisions and when they are firing on commercial vessels in the Strait, it’s a danger to all freedom loving people around the world,” Johnson said.
The renewed conflict has included continued attacks on shipping and escalating military action. Iran continued firing on tankers and claimed to hit U.S. bases in the region, while the United States carried out a third consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets.
The U.S. also used a sea drone for the first time to target an Iranian port. U.S. Central Command posted video showing one-way attack drones hitting a submarine and ship maintenance facility, saying the strike further degraded Iran’s ability to hit ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices have risen over the past week as tensions in the region have intensified.
The cease fire breaks down because this administration has no clear or strategic concept what it is doing. The M.O.U. had such gaping holes that it invited Iran to take over the Strait of Hormuz,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Tuesday as he criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the war.