Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Iran on Thursday to "abandon the fantasy" of imposing fees on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, warning that such actions would undermine any potential peace agreement between Washington and Tehran.
"Fees and tolls are the same thing to me," Rubio told reporters in Bahrain. "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. That's how we're going to define it."
Rubio emphasized the unworkability of such a scheme, noting that any attempt to charge vessels would likely result in forceful action. "You sink one ship, not one other ship is going to move," he stated. "So you might as well abandon the fantasy now."
His remarks come as questions linger about the period following a 60-day memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump, which allows for safe passage through the straits without charge. This period is intended for negotiations on a final agreement.
"I think we've been clear. You can call it a fee. You can call it a toll, call it whatever you want," Rubio said. "If you are charging money to use the straits, we won't support it. We won't. We won't tolerate it. We won't allow it."
He added, "We want a deal but not at any price. We will not accept a situation where the Strait of Hormuz belongs to any country... [but] we're going to give diplomacy every chance to work."
The Secretary of State's strong stance on the Strait of Hormuz coincided with a significant reversal in the Senate regarding President Trump's war powers authority concerning Iran. Earlier in the week, the Senate had voted to limit the president's ability to attack Iran under the War Powers Act, a move that reportedly angered Trump.
On Wednesday, in a symbolic effort to ease tensions, the Senate reversed its prior vote. This technical reversal does not impact the initial war powers resolution but was seen as an attempt to align with the President's negotiating position.
Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) indicated that Trump was "mad as a murder hornet" over the initial war powers vote, expressing concern that it could weaken his negotiating leverage with Tehran. Sources reported that Trump dominated a meeting with Senate Republicans, engaging in a heated exchange with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and criticizing Senator Dave McCormick (R-Pa.).
Following the meeting, Cassidy and Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) were invited to a briefing on the Iran situation and subsequently reversed their earlier votes. President Trump celebrated this development on social media, thanking various Republican senators and stating, "This vote puts Iran on notice!"