US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday told Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministers in Bahrain that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway that does not belong to any single nation, warning that allowing tolls or fees on its use would set a dangerous global precedent.
"Straits of Hormuz are international waters. International waterways do not belong to any nation-state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos," Rubio said.
He added, "If, in fact, we accept that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this would spread throughout the world like a contagion. If, in fact, there is now a strait that one country can, or two countries can, or whatever any countries decide they want to charge money for its use, what is going to stop every country in the world near a waterway from imposing the same? And then we're going to have chaos. So that is unacceptable."
Marco Rubio on Iran:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 25, 2026
Straits of Hormuz are international waters. International waterways do not belong to any nation-state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos.
If, in fact, we accept that you can charge money to… pic.twitter.com/slCCqx8mAK
On the question of how any such charge might be labelled, Rubio said, "You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee, whatever you want to call it — it's a game of semantics. The reality of it is that no country on earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways. And that will never be an acceptable condition of any deal. The President's been fundamentally clear about that."
ALSO READ: 'Unacceptable': Trump Says He Will Block Final Iran Deal If It Includes Shipping Fees
Marco Rubio on Iran:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 25, 2026
You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee, whatever you want to call it—it's a game of semantics.
The reality of it is that no country on earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways.
And that will never be an acceptable… pic.twitter.com/aJPDpFZz0P
The remarks came as Rubio held talks with GCC ministers as part of a three-day regional tour covering the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, aimed at reassuring Gulf allies on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Washington and Tehran.
The MoU includes a 60-day waiver under which Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority agreed to suspend planned transit fees through the strait during the negotiating period.
ALSO READ: Hormuz Traffic Eases: 30 India-Bound Ships Cross, 26 Remain In Queue, Says Report
However, Iran has said the strait will not return to its prewar conditions and has signalled it intends to charge fees for services once that period lapses, with Tehran and Oman discussing the future administration of the waterway.
Rubio earlier told reporters in Kuwait that he knew of "no country on the planet that supports tolling or fees for the use of the strait," while Trump has separately called any such fees "unacceptable."
Technical talks between Washington and Tehran are expected to resume in the coming days following an initial round in Switzerland.
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