The White House rejected any attempt by Iran to toll ships in the Strait of Hormuz, despite a reported Omani plan allowing ships to make voluntary contributions.
In comments to MBN on Tuesday, a White House official said any future arrangement governing the strait would not include transit fees, underscoring Washington’s longstanding position that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway that cannot be subject to Iranian control.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat told Reuters that Oman had presented Iran with a Gulf-backed proposal for managing the Strait of Hormuz. The plan would establish a joint regional mechanism to oversee the waterway and allow ships to make voluntary payments in exchange for services provided during transit.
According to the Reuters report, the proposal was delivered to Iran earlier this week during talks in Tehran. Iran has yet to respond.
Responding to questions from MBN, the White House official said: “The Strait is an international waterway and Iran cannot control or restrict transit through it. Ten million barrels of oil transited the Strait last night – Iran does not control it.”
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added: “Iran is overreaching with unreasonable demands that Oman, the United States, and the international community are rightly rejecting.”
“The deal being discussed is a coordination deal. There are no tolls and no fees,” the official said.
According to Reuters, the proposed framework is modeled on existing arrangements in the Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore ask vessels to make voluntary contributions toward the cost of services provided.
A temporary ceasefire agreement reached between Iran and the United States in June assigned Oman a defined role in shaping future arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz.
Under that agreement, Iran was to engage with Oman on the future administration of the strait and the provision of maritime services, in consultation with other Gulf states and in accordance with international law.
Although Oman has held talks with Iran on the issue, Muscat’s only public intervention so far has been guidance issued in June for vessels transiting the strait through Omani territorial waters, without requiring any transit fees.
Iran, however, wants any permanent agreement ending the conflict to allow it to impose fees on vessels passing through the strait.
During the cease-fire, Iranian forces fired on vessels sailing near Oman’s coast, claiming that their route through the strait violated the terms of the truce.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved, while arguing that the United States should not bear the cost of protecting the strategic waterway.
In recent remarks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “no country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” adding that transit fees would “never” be part of any agreement concerning the strait.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
