Iran, Oman to jointly charge fees along Strait of Hormuz: Report

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Tue, 06/30/2026 - 17:05

Muscat appears to be trying to find a workaround so Iran does not impose a unilateral, mandatory toll for use of the critical waterway

The Liberian-flagged container vessel MSC Reef is seen docked along a pier at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah emirate, along the Gulf of Oman, on 28 June 2026 (AFP)

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Iran and Oman are looking to jointly impose a service fee for use of the Strait of Hormuz, despite open US objections, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing an Iranian official and four diplomats. 

The 14-point plan signed by the US and Iran earlier this month stipulates that the Strait of Hormuz would see "the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge", but much like the rest of the agreement, it is only valid for the 60-day negotiation period. 

However, Iran and Oman are mandated to develop a plan as part of the deal. 

Charging a toll as part of a new, post-war business model in the region, however, reverses centuries of free transit through the waterway. 

Oman would like the fee to be voluntary, while Iran insists the fee should be mandatory, the unnamed sources who spoke to the NYT said. 

Muscat hopes the amounts paid will cover the costs of maintaining safe navigation practices along the maritime route, akin to the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. 

But on Monday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said that if an agreement is not reached with Oman, Tehran would impose its own fees. 

'We'll have to blow them up' 

Last month, US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Oman, in remarks that offered a window into what several US officials have told Middle East Eye is the administration’s frustration with Muscat amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Trump said he would “blow up” the country if it agreed to work with Iran to impose a fee for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz as part of a settlement to end the war on the Islamic Republic.

“The strait is going to be open to everybody. Nobody is going to control it…it’s international waters,” Trump said. 

'From outlier to trailblazer': How Oman offers a glimpse into the post-war Gulf

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“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” he added. 

Trump’s outburst left US diplomats scrambling to preserve ties, while pressing Oman, unsuccessfully, to issue a statement denouncing Iran’s claims about a toll, Arab and US officials previously told MEE.

Oman, a longtime US ally that has played a mediating role in multiple conflicts, did not publicly respond to the remarks, but a later private discussion between an Omani diplomat and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent revealed assurances that Muscat had "no plans for tolling the Strait". 

In the war’s early days, when other Gulf states opened their military bases to the US and joined the attack on Iran, Oman was called an outlier among its neighbours because of its criticism of the US and its reluctance to enter the fray.

But Muscat's decision has now been vindicated by a ceasefire that is widely viewed as a victory for Iran in the Gulf.

Oman is the US’s oldest treaty partner in the Gulf, going back to 1833. 

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