The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Tuesday that he will refrain from applying the 20% tax planned for cargo ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, a levy that was presented as a kind of payment for guaranteeing their security, and which will be replaced by trade agreements and investments from Gulf countries in US territory.
As he explained, this initiative comes after having held "very productive conversations with Middle Eastern leaders" and he announced that these future investments will be "enormous" and "extraordinarily beneficial" for both the United States and the countries in the region involved, without specifying which ones.
"We have the largest dollar investment in history in the United States, but these new investments will make that figure even larger, and we will see factories, plants, and equipment come to the United States at historic levels, creating millions of well-paying American jobs," the president promised, emphasizing the economic impact he expects to achieve.
In the same vein, Trump proclaimed that "America is winning again, winning like never before" and maintained that "the days when Iran killed hundreds of thousands of people, including 52,000 protesters, are over," alluding to an unverified figure that differs from other estimates.
"Iran will never have a nuclear weapon," he reiterated in a message posted on his social media, in which he highlighted the "impressive military might" displayed by the United States in recent months in the context of its war with Tehran, as well as the work of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the US military leadership.
"Thanks to them, and to all members of the most powerful military in the world, the Strait of Hormuz is open to all maritime traffic, except for Iran," Trump pointed out, attributing this situation to the Tehran authorities, whom he has described as "liars, violent, and evil."
"We will impose a total blockade, but only on ships arriving or departing from Iranian ports, or carrying anything related to Iranian cargo," the US president added, detailing the scope of the restrictions he intends to apply.
On Monday, Trump had declared the Strait of Hormuz "open" and announced then that a 20% tax would be imposed on all goods crossing this strategic corridor, for security purposes, after Iran communicated on Sunday its closure in response to the latest United States attacks, which Tehran considers a violation of the principle of understanding reached last June.