ran’s foreign ministry insisted Monday that the country is “not seeking to collect tolls” for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passage that had been free and open to all vessels prior to the U.S. and Israel launching their joint war on Iran, but that a new system it’s creating with Oman will have costs to cover.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told reporters Monday that Tehran continued working with its neighbor Oman — the two countries with coastlines in the strait — “to draft a protocol or mechanism to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Iran does not charge tolls. There is no toll,” Baqaei insisted. “I think we should be careful with the use of words. We are not seeking to collect tolls.”
But he said “both for the national interests and security of Iran and Oman as coastal states, and for the broader benefit of the international community,” vessels using the shipping lanes of the strait will require that “services are provided — navigation services, as well as necessary measures for protecting the environment of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman.”
“These require costs,” said Baqaei “Therefore, this should not be referred to as a toll. Iran and Oman are working responsibly in this direction, and we hope to reach a final outcome as soon as possible.”
Persian Gulf Strait Authority/X 
The Trump administration has ruled out allowing Iran to impose tolls as part of any deal to reopen the strait, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying last week “there is not a country in the world that should accept” such a system.
Rubio accused Iran of “trying to convince Oman” to join “in this tolling system in an international waterway.”
“That’s just not acceptable. It can’t happen,” Rubio said.
