US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that no country may charge fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as an international waterway. The remark, reported by Israeli news outlet N12, directly contradicts Iran's ongoing claim that vessels must pay navigation, insurance, and environmental fees.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that no country may collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, asserting the waterway is international and therefore not subject to any nation's fee regime. The statement, reported by N12, enters a months-long dispute between Washington and Tehran over access to the strategic chokepoint.
Rubio's remark follows a series of back-and-forth claims. Iran has maintained since early June that it charges vessels for "navigation, insurance, and environmental protection" — a label it argues is not a toll. President Trump rejected that position in a June 20 warning during the ceasefire period, while the US administration has described an emerging framework deal that would require Iran to forgo tolls altogether. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, in turn, said on June 15 that the fee system continues under the different label, and a negotiating team member declared "you will pay at Hormuz, that is final."
The Rubio statement, which is attributed here by N12, has not yet been confirmed from a direct US government transcript. It represents the highest-level US rejection of any maritime charge in the strait since Trump's warning, but the practical effect remains unclear: Iran's official statements have not changed, and the corridor remains subject to competing sovereignty claims.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake