Rubio was speaking at a joint ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council member states and the United States held in Manama Bahrain, as part of his three-country tour of the region from Tuesday to Thursday.
“The United States, with the help of some gathered around this table here today, are going to pursue the opportunity to enter into constructive dialogue and hopefully agreements with Iran, and we hope it leads to a very positive outcome. That is our hope. That is what we are open to,” the US diplomat said.
He rejected the notion that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to any single nation, saying imposing transit fees on this strategic waterway could set an inappropriate precedent for other sea lanes around the world.
“The Straits of Hormuz are international waters. International waterways do not belong to any nation-state,” Rubio said. “If in fact there is now a straits that one country can or two countries can or any countries decide they want to charge money for its use, what is going to stop every country in the world near a waterway from imposing the same? And then we’re going to have chaos.”
