Lead

US President Donald Trump has abandoned his proposal to impose a 20% fee on cargo shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, reversing course less than a day after announcing the plan. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had decided to replace the fee with trade and investment deals with Gulf states, according to multiple outlets including ABC Australia, the BBC, Dawn, the South China Morning Post, and TASS.

The reversal came just hours before the US naval blockade of Iranian ports was set to resume, a measure Trump had announced alongside the fee on Monday. The US also continued a third night of strikes on Iran, while Iranian forces launched attacks on targets in the region, including a strike on a Kuwaiti naval vessel that injured four personnel.

Coverage comparison

Reporting on the development was broadly consistent across outlets. ABC Australia, the BBC, Dawn, the South China Morning Post, and TASS all reported that Trump had stepped back from the proposed 20% transit fee, citing his Truth Social post in which he said the fee would be replaced by "Trade and Investment Deals" with Gulf states. The BBC and Dawn noted that the reversal came after Trump had described the US as the "guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz and had vowed to charge a fee to cover the cost of securing the waterway.

ABC Australia's live blog provided additional detail, reporting that Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been contacted by "different people, different countries, kings and emirs" who offered to invest in the United States instead of paying the toll. The same blog quoted Trump as saying he did not "like the concept of a fee" but that it was "unfair that we're not somehow compensated."

The South China Morning Post noted that the fee was abandoned less than a day after it was unveiled, and that Trump did not identify the participating governments, specify the value of the commitments, or say whether they represented new pledges. The BBC similarly reported that Trump provided no further details on the proposed investment deals.

Key claims

  • Trump dropped the proposed 20% toll on Strait of Hormuz traffic, saying he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states. This was reported by ABC Australia, the BBC, Dawn, the South China Morning Post, and TASS.
  • Trump said he was called by "different people, different countries, kings and emirs" who offered to invest in the US instead of paying the toll. This statement was carried by ABC Australia's live blog.
  • The US Navy's blockade of Iranian ports is set to resume. This was reported by ABC Australia and the BBC.
  • Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the memorandum of understanding with the US is null and void. This was reported by ABC Australia's live blog, which quoted Gharibabadi as saying, "America not only violated the memorandum of understanding, but also dismantled it."
  • Four personnel were injured in an Iranian attack on a Kuwaiti Navy vessel. This was reported by ABC Australia's live blog.

Continued hostilities

While Trump's decision to drop the fee was cast as a diplomatic overture, military activity in the region continued. The US carried out a third night of strikes on Iran, according to the BBC and Dawn. Iran's state media reported blasts in multiple cities, including Qeshm Island and Kish Island, and an explosion in Andimeshk in Khuzestan province, as detailed by Dawn.

Iran also continued its own attacks. Bahrain, which hosts a US naval base, said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack, and Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles, according to Dawn. Kuwait said its armed forces were engaging with "hostile" aerial targets, and the state news agency reported sirens had sounded in the country, Dawn added.

The escalation has heightened concerns about the stability of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of globally traded oil and natural gas passes. The BBC noted that the ongoing strikes had underscored the strategic importance of the waterway, while Dawn reported that the attacks had increased doubts that the memorandum of understanding signed last month would lead to a permanent halt in the war.