Rubio Warns Iran To Abandon Strait Of Hormuz Toll ‘Fantasy’ After Trump Scores Senate Win

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran on Thursday that any attempt to charge commercial vessels for using the Strait of Hormuz would jeopardize ongoing peace negotiations with the United States, declaring that such proposals are a nonstarter for the Trump administration.

Speaking to reporters in Bahrain, Rubio dismissed reports that Iranian officials are considering imposing fees or mandatory insurance requirements on ships traveling through the strategic waterway.

“Fees and tolls are the same thing to me. 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 said.

“It’s not even workable,” he continued. “Let’s say a ship says, ‘I’m not going to pay the fee.’ It’s not like a toll on the road. You don’t get a ticket in the mail. You get shot at. You sink one ship, not one other ship is going to move.”

“So you might as well abandon the fantasy now,” he added.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump and Iran last week, Tehran agreed to allow commercial vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz free of charge for 60 days while negotiators work toward a broader peace agreement.

Questions have emerged, however, about what happens after that negotiating period expires.

Rubio made clear the administration opposes any future attempt by Iran to monetize access to the waterway.

“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 emphasized that while the administration remains committed to diplomacy, it will not compromise on freedom of navigation.

“We want a deal but not at any price,” Rubio said. “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.”

Rubio’s remarks came one day after President Donald Trump secured a symbolic political victory in the Senate over congressional war powers involving Iran.

Earlier this week, the Senate approved a resolution seeking to limit the president’s authority to launch military action against Iran under the War Powers Act, a move that reportedly angered Trump.

Following a meeting between the president and Senate Republicans on Wednesday, the chamber reversed course in a procedural vote after Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana switched their positions.

According to Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Trump was “mad as a murder hornet” during the closed-door meeting, arguing the earlier vote weakened America’s negotiating position with Tehran.

Sources familiar with the meeting said Trump dominated the discussion, at one point engaging in a heated exchange with Cassidy while also criticizing Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania for missing the earlier vote.

Later in the day, the White House invited Cassidy to the Situation Room for a classified briefing on Iran before he changed his vote.

Trump celebrated the reversal on Truth Social.

“Wow! The Senate just changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, to 50-47 for. Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy changed,” the president wrote. “Thank you to Leader John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno, and all. This vote puts Iran on notice!”