Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran to abandon any plan to impose fees, tolls or other charges on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the Trump administration would view such a move as a violation of ongoing diplomacy.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Thursday that the United States will not accept any Iranian attempt to charge ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, calling the idea unworkable and urging Tehran to drop what he described as a “fantasy.”
Rubio made the remarks after meetings with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in Bahrain, where he said the Trump administration is focused on keeping commercial shipping moving through one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
The warning followed reports that some Iranian officials had discussed seeking payments from vessels for security, insurance or other services after last week’s U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding. The agreement temporarily restored free navigation through the strait while broader negotiations continue.
“Fees and tolls are the same thing to me,” Rubio told reporters. “If you’re paying someone to go there, I don’t care if you call it a fee or a toll or a donation. It’s a toll.”
Rubio said any payment system would amount to coercion because Iran could not enforce it without threatening ships.
“Let’s say a ship says, ‘Well, I’m not going to pay the fee,’” Rubio said. “It’s not like a toll on a road. You don’t get a ticket in the mail. They get shot at. You shoot at one ship, you sink one ship, no other ship is going to move. So that sort of system is not only unwise, it can’t happen. It’s not even workable. So you might as well abandon the fantasy now.”
Rubio said Gulf nations do not support any tolling arrangement in the strait and that President Donald Trump has made clear such charges cannot be included in any deal with Tehran.
“There isn’t a nation on Earth that supports having to pay money to go through the straits,” Rubio said.
“If you are charging money to use the straits, we won’t support it. We won’t tolerate it. We won’t allow it,” he added.
Under the temporary agreement brokered by the Trump administration, Iran agreed to allow toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for at least 60 days while the two sides pursue a broader peace arrangement.
Rubio said the administration will judge Iran by what happens on the water, not by public statements from Tehran.
“We’re interested in whether or not ships are moving,” Rubio said. “If ships are moving as they should be moving, then that’s what we’re going to judge. If this rhetoric is backed up by actual ships being threatened and ships are not moving, that’s a violation of the agreement and we’re going to have a problem with it.”
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping lane for global energy markets, and any disruption in vessel traffic can raise concerns about oil and gas supplies. Rubio said the United States and regional partners remain opposed to any arrangement that would allow Iran to collect payments for commercial passage.
The secretary said the Trump administration still wants diplomacy to succeed, but he cautioned that Washington will not accept a deal at any cost.
“We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to work,” Rubio said. “If Iran is interested in making a real deal, the United States is open to doing it. If they’re not, then the president will know that, and he’ll have options available to him.”
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