According to Trump, the US will now instead negotiate “trade and investment agreements” with “various Gulf states” - countries around the Persian Gulf. He wrote this on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Trump, the investments will take place in the United States.
"We will see factories, plants and equipment pouring into the United States at historic levels, which will create millions more good-paying American jobs," Trump wrote.
“Actually like it”
At a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump said he changed his mind after "kings and emirs" contacted him with alternative proposals and pointed out that multibillion-dollar investments would be better than tariffs, the AP news agency reports. Trump said he agreed:
I actually like it, because I don't think anyone should be able to charge a fee for the strait.
The president unexpectedly unveiled his idea of US tariffs on goods transported through the Strait of Hormuz - which runs past Iran and Oman - on Monday. Such a fee has been criticized by the UN maritime body, among others, for lacking support in international law. The US has also previously rejected all tariffs in the strait as unwanted and unreasonable.
Crude oil futures prices fell sharply in reaction to Trump's new announcement.
Blockade applies
Trump also writes that the resumed blockade of all maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports remains in effect.
In parallel, Iran - which claims to control the Strait of Hormuz - continued to attack ships traveling through the important waterway overnight Tuesday. According to the country's Revolutionary Guard, ships that do not have a permit and ignore warnings are being attacked.
The strait is a so-called transit passage, which according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees ships free passage.
