Iran is in talks with Oman, a U.S. ally, on a joint system of charges for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported May 21. The discussions, first reported by Bloomberg the same day, indicate that the United States and Iran remain far from any settlement of the war launched against Iran in late February, despite repeated assertions by President Trump that a deal is at hand.
On May 20, Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority announced on social media that it had “defined the boundaries of the Strait of Hormuz management supervision area” and that passage would now require a permit. The next day, Trump dismissed the idea from the Oval Office: “We want it free. We don’t want tolls. It’s international. It’s an international waterway.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that any payment system “can’t happen” and would “make a diplomatic deal unfeasible.”