Trump scraps Strait of Hormuz cargo fees, pivots to Gulf investment push

U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14, 2026 abandoned plans to impose a 20% cargo fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, instead announcing that Gulf states would make “massive” trade and investment deals in the United States. The reversal came as the U.S. military launched fresh strikes on Iranian coastal defenses, missile sites, drones, and maritime assets, while Iran retaliated with attacks on Bahrain, Jordan, and multiple tankers in the strait. The escalation has shattered a fragile 60-day interim peace deal aimed at reopening the waterway—through which one-fifth of the world’s traded crude oil and natural gas flows—and resolving Iran’s nuclear dispute. The Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint, with Iran disrupting shipping outside its territorial waters and the U.S. threatening to reopen the strait by force, a move experts say would require a major military buildup. The U.S. Central Command confirmed strikes in Iran, vowing to continue targeting capabilities used to attack civilian and commercial vessels. Iran acknowledged the strikes but did not provide casualty details. Hours after the U.S. halted its bombing campaign, Iranian state media reported strikes on the city of Bushehr along the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a fresh warning to airlines operating in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and over the Gulf of Oman, citing “unpredictable military developments” involving missiles, drones, and combat aircraft. The interim peace deal, already under strain, now faces collapse as the U.S. prepares to reinstate a blockade on Iranian ports at midnight on July 15 in Dubai, a measure lifted in April as part of the original agreement. The conflict has driven oil, fertilizer, and other commodity prices higher, straining global supply chains and raising alarms over regional stability.