US President Donald Trump abruptly scrapped a planned 20% levy on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid clashes with Iran, saying he would instead seek compensation from Gulf allies via trade deals.Trump said Middle Eastern leaders persuaded him to reduce the toll just a day after he announced it - and added that he was against charging any fees for the key waterway.On his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “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.”He said he would continue with a “full blockade” on ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or ships carrying Iranian cargo. The blockade is due to come into force from 7am NZT today.Trump had declared on Monday that Washington was now “the guardian of the Hormuz strait” and would impose hefty fees on shipping to reimburse it for protecting it - while giving few details of the plan.His announcement caused oil prices to spike and alarmed allies - especially given that the United States had previously slammed Iran for its own plans to charge shipping fees for the Strait.But Trump said that he had changed his mind after speaking to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.He said: “I put it out yesterday, I thought it was good. I was called by different people, different countries - kings, emirs, and all of the people that we all know and we all love.“They said we’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States, with billions and billions of dollars.... And I like that, actually, because I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait.”But Trump added that it would be “unfair” if the US was “not in somehow compensated”.- AFP