US won't let Iran control Strait of Hormuz, Rubio says
Photo: Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iran’s attempts to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable to Washington, Bloomberg reports.
In an interview with Fox News, Rubio stressed that the United States cannot accept a situation in which Iran effectively regulates the passage of ships through this strategically vital maritime route or imposes its own fees for its use.
He noted that such a model turns an international strait into a tool of pressure. According to him, opening the strait cannot mean a permit-based system controlled by Tehran or threats to shipping without coordination with Iran.
"If what they mean by opening the straits is, 'yes, the straits are opened, as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission, or we will blow you up, and you pay us,' — that’s not opening the straits," Rubio said.
The Secretary of State also said that the United States has no intention of tolerating this.
"They cannot normalize — nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize — a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it," Rubio emphasized.
Talks and Tehran’s proposal
It was previously reported that Iran had submitted a proposal to the United States concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and partial progress toward ending the conflict.
According to media reports, the document envisaged postponing complex issues related to the nuclear program to a later stage.
However, the US administration links the crisis primarily to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and sees this as the key driver of escalation.
International reaction
The issue of the Strait of Hormuz was discussed at a UN Security Council meeting. Representatives of France and Germany warned of the risks of militarization of the maritime route and the threat to global trade.
European officials note that a prolonged conflict is increasing energy pressure and political instability.
The United States has launched an urgent operation to restore passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon is deploying underwater drones and aircraft to neutralize potential mine threats linked to Iran.
The US decided to cancel a previously planned visit by envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Pakistan, where talks related to Iran were expected to take place.
