Rubio Tells Gulf Allies Iran Deal Won't Undermine
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- Marco Rubio told Gulf Arab foreign ministers at a meeting in Bahrain—home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet—that any US deal with Iran would not come at the expense of oil-rich neighbors, many of whom view the preliminary accord as too soft after being struck by Iran during the war.
- The US and GCC issued a joint statement backing 'free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation' in the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, fees, or attempts to assert control; Rubio warned that if Iran threatens or blocks ships, 'we're going to have a problem.'
- Rubio said he did not discuss the $300 billion reconstruction fund in the peace proposal, which Gulf states fear Tehran would use to revive its military capacity; the draft agreement also includes no limits on Iran's ballistic missiles, a point the joint statement demanded be addressed.
- Iran fought US and Israeli forces during the conflict that began Feb. 28, took effective control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, and struck several GCC states, all six of which had offered some logistical support to Washington and now make up the backbone of America's regional security architecture.
- Oman announced a corridor for safe passage of vessels through the strait and told the meeting future arrangements would not involve transit tolls; Rubio said 'no country on Earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways' and that fees would never be part of any deal.
- The US and Iran ended a first round of negotiations in Switzerland on Monday with conflicting accounts—Trump said Iran agreed to nuclear inspections 'into infinity,' while Tehran denied any such concession—and the two sides also offered divergent versions on financial incentives, Hormuz control, and Israel's parallel war in Lebanon.
Why it matters: The US-GCC joint pledge to reject any Hormuz transit fees sits in direct tension with the draft agreement's provisions that could expand Tehran's control over oil shipping lanes, and Gulf states' private alarm over the $300B reconstruction fund and the absence of any ballistic missile limits means the deal's most sensitive terms remain contested even as Rubio wraps his tour and a second negotiating round approaches.
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