Iran rejects US $6 billion offer over Hormuz fee dispute

Iran has turned down a US proposal that would release roughly six billion dollars of frozen assets in exchange for Tehran abandoning its plan to levy navigation and security fees on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The United States, represented by negotiators Steve Vitkoff and Jared Kushner, offered to lift the funds held abroad, including in Qatar, as part of a broader package aimed at ensuring free passage through the strategic waterway that carries about five percent of global oil shipments.

At the same time, several European governments have signaled they will accept the inevitability of such fees, indicating they will pay Iran and Oman for “pollution” and “navigation services” rather than insisting on a pre‑war status of free transit. European officials, including France and the United Kingdom, have called for an international maritime coalition to clear mines while acknowledging the new fee regime.

The diverging positions underscore ongoing tension over Hormuz’s governance, with Iran asserting sovereign rights to regulate and tax the passage, while the United States and its allies warn that the fees could set a precedent for other chokepoints.