Rubio warns Iran over Strait of Hormuz as he sells peace deal to Gulf allies

Rubio's reassurance mission

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up a three-country tour of the oil-rich Gulf on Thursday, having stopped in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain to sell the Trump administration's preliminary peace accord with Iran. At a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Manama, Rubio faced the foreign ministers of six Sunni monarchies that were struck by Iranian retaliatory attacks during the three-month war that ended with a framework agreement last week.

Rubio told the ministers that Washington would ensure "no part of this deal" would be undertaken "in any way that undermines the security, stability or prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region." He also insisted that any final treaty must be "good, real, verifiable, and adhered to" and stressed the US was not pursuing a deal "at any price."

While we want a deal, we don't want a deal at any price. We want a deal that's good, we want a deal that's real, we want a deal that's verifiable, and we want a deal that's adhered to.

Strait of Hormuz warning

On the same day Iran's Revolutionary Guards instructed ships to avoid Omani waters and use only lanes coordinated with Iran's navy, Rubio delivered a forceful rebuttal. "International waterways do not belong to any nation-state," he said, warning that if a country were allowed to charge tolls on a waterway simply because it was near its territorial space, the practice would "spread throughout the world like a contagion."

If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this will spread throughout the world like a contagion.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, was de facto closed by Iran during the conflict. Rubio argued that any toll would create "total chaos" and erode a foundational principle of international law.

Gulf states' lingering fears

America's Arab Gulf allies view the draft US-Iran agreement with deep scepticism. The six GCC nations hosted US military bases and offered logistical support during the war, making them targets for Iranian drones and missiles. At least 20 civilians were killed across three countries and hundreds injured, according to reports. Iran's closure of the Strait also exposed their energy-export economies.

Dania Thafer, executive director of the Gulf International Forum, said the war had "crossed all red lines," adding that the status quo is worse than before hostilities began. Andrew Leber of the Carnegie Endowment described "a general resignation toward the terms of the deal" among Gulf rulers, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE viewing it as the best they can expect from a president distracted by other priorities.

The status quo situation is worse than it was before the war started. These countries had never been attacked regularly and to that degree. All the red lines were crossed.

Shipping resumes as window opens

Maritime traffic through Hormuz surged this week as vessels stranded for months in the Persian Gulf began leaving under a temporary two-month window. On Wednesday, about 70 ships transited, including 29 tankers, making it the busiest day since March 1, according to Kpler. Before the war, more than 130 vessels passed through daily. The resumption follows weeks of paralysis that crippled Middle East crude deliveries.

GCC secretary general Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi told the gathering that future US-Gulf arrangements should safeguard secure maritime corridors, including freedom of navigation through the Strait.

Divergent narratives on peace terms

Even as Rubio toured the Gulf, contradictions between Washington and Tehran persisted. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections "into infinity," a claim Iran immediately denied. The two sides have also given conflicting accounts of financial incentives, control of Hormuz, and the status of Israel's parallel war in Lebanon. The draft accord includes no limits on Iran's ballistic missiles and proposes a $300 billion reconstruction fund, provisions that alarm Gulf states already wary of Tehran's growing regional clout.

Rubio told reporters he would not ask allies to contribute to any reconstruction fund during his trip.