Marco Rubio warns Iran’s Hormuz control would threaten global trade

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would create a dangerous precedent, jeopardising the world economy and the principle of freedom of navigation. He said the United States remains open to diplomatic solutions but that Tehran is not taking negotiations seriously, and warned that “if a state can decide to control an international waterway, charge a toll and blow up ships that don’t pay, we will see the same dangerous precedent repeat elsewhere.”

Rubio also met with the Quad ministers (U.S., Australia, India, Japan) and reaffirmed a joint commitment to maritime security and to counter China’s influence in the Indo‑Pacific. At the same time, U.S. Central Command conducted a series of nightly air and missile strikes on Iranian military facilities, targeting naval bases, drone depots and logistics infrastructure to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded with multiple rocket and drone attacks on U.S. installations in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, raising the death toll among American service members.

President Donald Trump later warned of further retaliatory actions, including possible strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, while Iranian officials warned of occupying the strategic Kharg Island that handles a large share of Iran’s oil exports.