Hormuz tolls would 'spread like contagion' to other waterways, says Rubio after IRGC warns against unauthorised crossing
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently in the Middle East for his first tour since the US and Iran signed a 14-point
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently in the Middle East for his first tour since the US and Iran signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), on Thursday warned that Iran's decision to impose tolls on ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz would also spread to other waterways and would risk “chaos.” Rubio warns Hormuz toll would spread to other waterways Rubio made these remarks at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain and added, "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 chaos." He added, "If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this will spread throughout the world like a contagion." He further said that while the US wants a peace deal with Iran, it does not want it at "any price," and noted, "While we want a deal, we don't want a deal at any price.
We want a good deal, we want a deal that's real, we want a verifiable deal, and we want a deal that's adhered to." Tehran warns against crossing Hormuz without approval The top US diplomat's remarks came after Iran warned ships against crossing the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation. On Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned against any crossing of the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation and said vessels that do not comply "will be dealt with," AFP reported. IRGC said, "The only authorised route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran." It further warned in a statement that any crossing without authorisation is "unacceptable and extremely dangerous". The ideological arm of Iran's military also denounced what they described as a new route through the waterway that was announced by "certain authorities." However, Rubio reiterated that Washington would not accept any tolls or fees.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point The US and Iran signed a 14-point MoU earlier this month to end the war, which the US and Israel started on 28 February as the conflict appeared to come to an end with the official signing of the MoU, uncertainty over Hormuz continues, which is still a key sticking point in negotiations between Tehran and Washington. According to reports, the Islamic Republic has said it plans to impose what it calls maritime service fees, rather than tolls. At the same time, Washington argues that it is an international waterway and therefore should not be charged. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and the Gulf countries through which roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) transited before the pre-war period.
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