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Iran: Rubio says US rejects any nation's claim over Hormuz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a Gulf tour, said the US will not accept any country's claim over the Strait of Hormuz or allow tolls on the international waterway. Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned against unauthorized crossings, and oil prices have dropped to pre-war levels.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jun 23–25, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will not accept that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to any country, as reported by Deutsche Welle. Speaking during his Middle East tour, Rubio also said no country would be allowed to charge tolls or fees for passage through the strait, which he described as an international waterway. His comments come amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran over the administration of the waterway following the recent interim agreement to end the Middle East war.

Coverage Comparison

Rubio made the remarks in the United Arab Emirates, the first stop on a series of meetings with US Gulf allies, according to Deutsche Welle. The trip follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran, which includes a partial lifting of US sanctions on Iranian oil exports. The agreement gives both sides 60 days to resolve sticking points before a final deal.

In the UAE, Rubio said, "It's an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That's existing international law." He added, "I don't think we have anybody to convince around here in that regard. I think all the countries in this region would agree with us."

Deutsche Welle also reported that Rubio is in Bahrain on the last leg of his Middle East tour.

Key Claims

US rejection of any claim over Hormuz: Rubio stated that the US will not accept that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to any country.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard warning: Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned against any crossings of Hormuz without authorization.
Oil price drop: Oil prices have dropped to levels last seen before the Iran war, with Brent crude falling below $73 (roughly €64) a barrel for the first time since the war started on February 28.
Memorandum of Understanding: The US and Iran signed an MoU last week to work toward a permanent end to the Middle East war, which has also seen the US partially lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Iran's stance on Hormuz administration: Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to the way it was before the war.
US claims on nuclear inspections: US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to far-reaching nuclear inspections, a claim that Iran has reportedly rejected.
Iran rejects US claims over frozen assets: Iran has rejected US claims over frozen assets.

Context

Deutsche Welle reported that oil prices had spiked after the war began, with crude soaring as high as $120 a barrel at one stage. The recent decline follows the interim agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The MoU provides for a 60-day period during which shipping can pass without tolls, after which Iran has indicated it wants to introduce "maritime fees."

How this outlet told it

Deutsche Welle as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC

Framing: US rejects Iranian claim to Strait of Hormuz — neutral

Facts Included:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will not accept that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to any country
Iran's Revolutionary Guard warns against any crossings of Hormuz without authorization
Oil prices have dropped to levels not seen since before the war
Rubio is in Bahrain on the last leg of his Middle East tour
The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to work toward a permanent end to the Middle East war

Read the source article →

Deutsche Welle as of Jun 23, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

Framing: Rubio in UAE, says no country will be allowed to charge tolls in Hormuz — neutral

Facts Included:

Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates, kicking off a series of meetings with US Gulf allies
The US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work toward a permanent end to the Middle East war
Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to the way it was before the war
US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to far-reaching nuclear inspections
Iran rejected US claims over frozen assets

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will not accept that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to any country.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimIran's Revolutionary Guard warns against any crossings of Hormuz without authorization.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimOil prices have dropped to levels not seen since before the war.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimRubio is in Bahrain on the last leg of his Middle East tour.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimThe US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to work toward a permanent end to the Middle East war.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 25, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC
ClaimIran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never go back to the way it was before the war.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 23, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC
ClaimUS President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to far-reaching nuclear inspections.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 23, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC
ClaimIran rejected US claims over frozen assets.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jun 23, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Deutsche Welle 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15