Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the United States’ shifting approach to the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebel group, and another high-ranking purge in the Chinese Communist Party.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a dizzying approach to the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, he declared his intention to impose heavy tolls on all commercial shipping through the strait as payment for U.S. protection. But within 24 hours, Trump had reversed course, caving to foreign pressure that demanded an open thoroughfare.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the United States’ shifting approach to the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebel group, and another high-ranking purge in the Chinese Communist Party.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a dizzying approach to the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, he declared his intention to impose heavy tolls on all commercial shipping through the strait as payment for U.S. protection. But within 24 hours, Trump had reversed course, caving to foreign pressure that demanded an open thoroughfare.

“Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. He did not specify what those investments might be, but he claimed that they would create millions of high-paying jobs for U.S. citizens while being “extraordinarily good” for Gulf countries.

For months, Washington has cited Iran’s Strait of Hormuz ambitions, including Tehran’s desire to impose tolls on commercial shipping, as a primary reason for continued warfare. Then after several days of tit-for-tat strikes last week, Trump appeared to take a page out of Iran’s playbook, demanding that a 20 percent fee be imposed on all cargo to reimburse the United States for its security services.

“We’re going to be reimbursed because the other nations are very wealthy, they’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” Trump told Fox & Friends on Monday. A 20 percent toll would have generated around $240 million a day, according to Reuters data.

Trump’s announcement quickly........

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