US ally proposes teaming up with Iran to charge Strait of Hormuz toll — despite strong opposition

Iran and Oman have agreed to move forward with a plan to collect “voluntary” fees from ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to multiple reports.

Oman, a US ally that originally said it opposed an Iranian toll scheme in the vital waterway, delivered a formal proposal to America and other allies on which shipping companies would have to pay service fees to use the strait, the New York Times reported.

Oman claimed that the proposal is modeled on fees collected for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore in Southeast Asia, where voluntary contributions are collected to ensure safe navigation.

While one of the regional diplomats told the Times the fees would be voluntary, the Iranian officials insisted the payments would be obligatory.

The plan also has another key difference to the Strait of Malacca tolls — in 15 years, the Aids to Navigation Fund, operated by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, has collected just $23 million.

Iran projected Hormuz tolls could bring in $40 billion per year.

Details of the plan come just a day after Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi expressed support for a joint plan with Iran to impose “maritime service fees” on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Press TV reported.

Al-Busaidi said Muscat remains opposed to Iran’s direct toll scheme for the critical oil choke point, but said fees were necessary to keep navigation in the waters safe.

“Some services may include enhancing navigational safety, protecting waters from pollution, and increasing preparedness to deal with accidents or emergencies,” the minister said of the collection plan.

The position echoes a joint statement from Tehran and Muscat last week that the governments refused to rule out collecting fees in the Strait of Hormuz after the Trump administration publicly insisted that Tehran can’t charge tolls.

The developments threaten to permanently change the strait, which oversees the transport of 20% of the world’s oil supply.

Before the US and Israel launched its war with Iran, the international shipping route was free and open to the more than 130 vessels that sailed through its waters every day.

It remains unclear whether the US will accept Oman’s plan to charge voluntary service fees following President Trump’s repeated insistence that the Strait of Hormuz should remain free waters for all.

The president previously described any tolls or fees schemes along the strait as “unacceptable,” going as far as to threaten Oman if it did not “behave just like everybody else.”