Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that Iran cannot “normalize” its control of the Strait of Hormuz, a condition created by the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.
“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’ll blow you up, and you pay us. That’s not opening the straits,” Rubio told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst.
“Those are international waterways. 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 added.
Rubio’s comments come amid reports in US media that Iran is offering a proposal to the US that would involve ending the US blockade of Iranian ports, opening the Strait of Hormuz, and addressing the nuclear issue later, though Iranian officials speaking to Drop Site News disputed the characterization and insisted talks still won’t happen unless the US lifts the blockade.
“We’re currently moving forward with our own design, and we feel continuing negotiations doesn’t make sense until the US government lifts the maritime blockade,” a senior Iranian official told Drop Site.
Iranian media previously reported that Iran’s initial 10-point proposal would include a mechanism for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay a toll shared between Iran and Oman, with the funds received by Iran going toward reconstruction.
