US President Donald Trump says he will forego the 20 per cent reimbursement fee for protecting the Strait of Hormuz with “trade and investment deals that the various Gulf states will be making into the United States”.

A day prior, Trump said that in addition to reinstating Washington’s naval blockade, the US would take a 20pc fee on all cargo passing through the strategic waterway.

The president says in a Truth Social post that he has made the decision following “highly productive conversations” with leaders in the region.

He adds that the Strait of Hormuz is “open to all ship traffic, except for Iran and that is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of total destruction”.

“We will therefore have a full blockade, but only on ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo,” Trump writes.