ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday described a proposed Iranian toll for passage through the Strait of Hormuz as “unacceptable,” saying Washington does not want a deal with Iran at “any cost” and warning that such a demand could create chaos for global shipping and international waterways.

“The Straits of Hormuz are international waters. International waterways do not belong to any nation-state,” Rubio said during a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Bahrain, adding that “this is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos.”

He described the situation in the strategic strait as “a priority” to Washington, noting that Iranian-imposed commercial precedent shifts in the waterway “will never be acceptable” for the US.

Since US-Iran negotiations began in early April, the Strait of Hormuz has remained a central point of contention, with both Tehran and Washington imposing maritime restrictions in and around the strategic waterway.

Passage through the waterway was previously free-of-charge for commercial vessels, but Tehran has since signaled that a fee-collection mechanism will be implemented following a 60-day grace period agreed to by Iran under the provisions of their memorandum of understanding with the US.

“You can call it a toll. You can call it a fee. Whatever you want to call it, it's a game of semantics,” Rubio said, reaffirming the reality that “no country on earth has a right to charge for the use of international waterways.”

Referring to a potential agreement with Iran aimed at ending the conflict, Rubio said Washington does not want a deal “at any price,” adding that any agreement must be good, verifiable, and enforceable.

The top US diplomat further warned that the imposition of tolls would set a dangerous precedent, threatening demands from other littoral states for such a mechanism, and cause similar measures to spread “like a contagion” to global waterways.

The developments come as Tehran and Muscat on Tuesday agreed on the formation of a joint working group to decide future administrative structures and transit costs for the strategic Strait of Hormuz, although controversies arose with Oman coordinating “a temporary maritime corridor.”

On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) criticized the new temporary maritime transit arrangement in the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was implemented without coordination with Tehran and describing the suggested routes as “completely dangerous.”

Washington has vehemently rejected any prospective transit fees in the past, with US President Donald Trump in late May saying that Oman “will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up” when questioned about joint Iranian-Omani control over the Strait.