Trump Cancels 20% 'Protection Racket' Fee Plan in Hormuz, But...
The United States has once again ramped up pressure on Iran by reimposing a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and launching a new wave of attacks on several strategic areas of the country.
The US government stated on Tuesday (14 July 2026) that the naval blockade on all Iranian ports has been reinstated as part of the latest escalation of the conflict. The US military also announced the start of a new wave of attacks on Iranian targets.
“To continue degrading the capabilities Iran uses to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said in explaining the operation’s objectives, as reported by Reuters.
The naval blockade on vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal waters officially came back into force at 20:00 GMT or 16:00 EDT, having previously been lifted in June.
Trump said the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all ships, except Iranian vessels.
The US military said more than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are currently operating in the region.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has cancelled a controversial plan to impose a 20% transit fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, just one day after the idea was announced.
Trump had proposed charging a 20% fee for vessels using the Strait of Hormuz on the grounds that America was providing security protection along the shipping lane.
However, the proposal immediately drew sharp criticism from various parties, including the United Nations shipping agency, which rejected charges on a strait used as an international shipping route.
Trump said the US government would prefer to pursue investment agreements with Gulf nations rather than collect transit fees. He also said several countries, without naming them, had expressed a desire to invest in the United States instead of being subject to such tariffs.
In another development, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported that US projectiles struck several strategic areas on Tuesday night.
The governor’s office of Bandar Abbas said US projectiles hit areas around the port city located on the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the governor’s office of Qeshm Island said its region was struck by US projectiles at around 19:00 local time.
Elsewhere, the Tasnim news agency reported that a US projectile exploded near water and electricity facilities on Kish Island.
Responding to the renewed military and economic pressure from Washington, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi affirmed that his country will not surrender.
“If the United States thinks that by tightening measures against us, with its military actions and economic blockade, we will return to the negotiating table, then they are wrong,” he said in an interview with Iranian state television.