Trump Declares Strait of Hormuz Open to All Shipping Except Iran

In a post published on Truth Social on Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz is open to maritime traffic from around the world, with the exception of Iran. He also made clear that the United States would impose a targeted naval blockade on maritime trade connected to the Islamic Republic. At the same time, he outlined a change in the economic framework governing relations with the Gulf states and emphasized that investment in the United States is expected to increase significantly.

At the beginning of his remarks, Trump praised the performance of the U.S. military and senior defense officials, crediting them with the current situation in the Gulf. “Oil is flowing like never before, thanks to the tremendous strength of the United States military,” he wrote. He went on to commend Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, and the commander of United States Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper. According to Trump, this was “because of them, and because of all the members of the strongest military in the world, by a tremendous margin.”

Trump then announced that “the Strait of Hormuz is open to the passage of all ships except those connected to Iran. That is because of its lying, violent, and malicious leadership, which is leading the country down a path of total destruction.” He said that, as a result, the United States would take targeted action against Iranian maritime trade. “Accordingly, we will impose a full naval blockade, but only on ships arriving at or departing from Iranian ports, or carrying any cargo connected to Iran.”

Trump also addressed his administration’s economic policy toward the Gulf states. He said that following what he described as “very productive talks” with the region’s leaders, a decision had been made to change the payment structure governing trade and investment agreements with those countries. “I have decided to replace the 20 percent reimbursement fee to the United States on trade and investment transactions carried out in the United States by the various Gulf states. These investments will be enormous and, at the same time, exceptionally beneficial for them and their future.”

According to Trump, the scale of investment in the United States is expected to grow substantially as a result of the new understandings. “As everyone knows, we have the largest volume of dollar investment in the United States of any country in history, but these new investments will increase that amount even further,” he wrote.

“We will see factories, manufacturing facilities, and equipment flowing into the United States on a historic scale, creating millions more high paying American jobs. America is winning again, winning like never before.”

Trump concluded the post with a sharp message to Iran. “The days when Iran killed hundreds of thousands of people, including 52,000 protesters, are over,” he wrote. “Most importantly, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”