There are negotiating tactics, and then there are deal-breakers. Iran’s proposal to charge tolls on shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz apparently lands firmly in the second category.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to Abu Dhabi on June 23, rejected any framework that would allow Iran to levy fees on vessels transiting the strait. His position was straightforward: international law already prohibits tolling international waterways, and the US has no intention of treating that as a negotiable point.
Why the Strait of Hormuz is non-negotiable
The narrow channel between Iran and Oman handles roughly 20 to 21 million barrels of oil per day, representing somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of all global maritime oil trade.
Rubio made clear that any tolling system on Hormuz would directly undermine the viability of a broader US-Iran diplomatic agreement.
