Marco Rubio Warns Iran’s Strait of Hormuz Scheme Could ‘Spread Throughout the World Like a Contagion’

In this Western Journal article, Joe Saunders reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio forcefully rejected Iran’s scheme to impose “fees” or tolls on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, warning it would act as a dangerous contagion undermining freedom of navigation worldwide.

• Rubio delivered the remarks in Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, on the same day Iranian forces attacked a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel transiting the vital chokepoint.
• The secretary emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz consists of international waters belonging to no single nation, calling freedom of the seas a foundational principle without which global trade would collapse into chaos.
• Iran recently proposed charging fees for passage, a move Rubio dismissed as semantic wordplay that amounts to extortion, insisting no country has the right to charge for use of international waterways.
• Such a precedent would spread like a contagion, encouraging other nations to impose similar controls and endangering the global economy, particularly oil flows from the Persian Gulf.
• Rubio made clear the U.S. will never accept this as part of any deal with Iran, aligning with President Trump’s firm stance on protecting open maritime routes.
• The threat comes amid ongoing Middle East conflict, with Iran leveraging its position to disrupt shipping and drive up global oil prices since strikes began in late February.

Read the full story:
https://www.westernjournal.com/marco-rubio-warns-irans-strait-hormuz-scheme-spread-throughout-world-like-contagion/