Trump reinstates U.S. blockade on Iran and proposes 20% fees for Strait of Hormuz cargo

The US military early Wednesday reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports over Tehran's attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sparking new strikes on nations hosting American forces as an interim deal to end the war further unravelled. Days of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East by Iran - and both nations' attempts to vie for control of the waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas passes during peacetime - threaten to push the region back to all-out war. The US first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing the interim deal that set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues like Iran's nuclear program, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified. When US President Donald Trump announced the return of the blockade Monday, he also said he would impose a 20 per cent fee on ships passing through the strait. But he dropped the plan to collect fees hours before resumi

CAIRO/DUBAI — The United States on Tuesday said it had reimposed a naval blockade of all Iranian ports in the latest escalation in the conflict, while President Donald Trump dropped a 20 percent transit fee on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz he had pitched only a day earlier. The U.S. also began a fresh round of strikes "to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," the U.S. military said. Tehran has again closed the strait after hostilities between Iran and the U.S. reignited last week, fraying an already fragile truce reached in June after several months of fighting that has killed thousands. Over the last day, Iran has struck U.S. facilities in Jordan and Bahrain, while United Arab Emirates-owned shipping tankers were hit in the strait. The renewed attacks have increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month would lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has engulfed Iran's neighbors and disrupted global energy supplies. Prior to the war's outbreak in February, the strait was used to transit ab

Over the last day, Iran has struck U.S. facilities in Jordan and Bahrain, while UAE-owned tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz, dampening hopes of a permanent halt in the war.

Donald Trump has abandoned plans to impose a 20 per cent levy on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz as the US fires more strikes against Iran and a blockade on Iranian shipping comes into effect.

Donald Trump has abandoned plans to impose a 20 per cent levy on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz as the US fires more strikes against Iran and a blockade on Iranian shipping comes into effect.

President Trump reversed plans to slap hefty fees on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the Iran conflict only intensified Tuesday as the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade and Tehran launched new attacks on Gulf countries.