US secretary of state Marco Rubio has dismissed concerns raised by the UAE over an Iranian toll on the Strait of Hormuz as “semantics”.
“You can call it a toll, you can call it a fee, at the end of the day it’s all semantics,” Rubio said during a visit to Bahrain, where he is meeting the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The UAE’s presidential adviser Anwar Gargash had previously warned that “geopolitical facts” cannot be imposed on Arab Gulf states as a result of “treacherous aggression against them”.
He said this would “sow seeds of discord and conflict for the future”, adding that this “is precisely what applies to the Strait of Hormuz”.
Washington has sought to reassure the region that no country, including Iran, will be allowed to charge tolls for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that Tehran had told the US that no tolls were being sought from ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices dropped to pre war levels ($72.24 per barrel) on Thursday after Trump threatened abandon talks with Iran if it tries to impose tolls on shipping through the strait.
