US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a definitive statement on the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting any notion of maritime tolls. Rubio said no country has the right to charge for the use of international shipping lanes, calling the fee a 'semantic game,' and emphasized that President Trump is clear on this matter.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday doubled down on his rejection of Iranian maritime tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, calling Tehran's attempt to frame the fees a "semantic game" and stating unequivocally that no country has the right to charge for the use of international shipping lanes. The remarks, reported by Israeli news outlet N12 and updated by The Zioneer at 12:12 Jerusalem time, follow a sequence of escalating US warnings. Earlier on Tuesday (19:17 Jerusalem), Rubio had already said the US would not accept Iran collecting passage fees and that America was committed to Gulf state security. By the evening of Wednesday (23:43 Jerusalem), President Donald Trump reiterated that no final deal with Iran may include such tolls, calling them "unacceptable." The latest dispatch from Rubio — who now grounds the principle in President Trump's own authority, saying Trump is "absolutely clear" on this — narrows any room for Iranian reinterpretation.
4 developments
- StrongIranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: toll collection in Strait of Hormuz continues, contradicting Trump
- StrongTrump reiterates: No final Iran deal may include tolls in Strait of Hormuz
- DevelopingOman's foreign minister affirms commitment to free passage in Strait of Hormuz
- DevelopingOman's foreign minister: future arrangements for Strait of Hormuz won't include tolls
Source and signal
- Internal intake