Rubio says tolls on Strait of Hormuz will not happen

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that charging tolls on the Strait of Hormuz will not happen, amid reports that Iran seeks to establish a mechanism with Oman to regulate traffic in the crucial waterway. Rubio made the remarks during a press availability in Kuwait, reiterating U.S. President Donald Trump's opposition to the idea of Iran imposing a fee on shipping through the strait, which the secretary has called an "international waterway." Concerns have continued that Tehran could seek to assert its control over the strait as last week's preliminary peace deal between Washington and Tehran stipulates safe passage of vessels through the waterway "with no charge for 60 days only." "I think the whole world will be against any mechanism that charges money to use an international waterway. It's that simple. The president's already said that that's not going to happen," Rubio told reporters. He added, "I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or a fee for the use of the straits. That's not going to happen. The president has been abundantly clea