U.S. President Donald Trump has scrapped plans for a 20% toll on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, opting instead to pursue trade and investment deals with Gulf states while maintaining the blockade on Iranian shipping.
Trump stated that the decision was made based on productive conversations with Middle Eastern leaders.
This policy shift comes as U.S. forces continue to strike targets across Iran, with Iranian missile attacks in response.
The Strait of Hormuz, which handles about one-fifth of the world's energy transit during peacetime, has become a battleground in the conflict.
Trump declared the U.S. as the "GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT," while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps stated that the only way to restore safe shipping traffic through the strait is to end U.S. military intervention.
