The Strait of Hormuz — the narrow 33-kilometre-wide chokepoint through which one-fifth of the world's oil trade once flowed freely — is now the centre of a multi-dimensional standoff that is simultaneously a military crisis, a diplomatic impasse, and an emerging legal battle over who controls one of the planet's most critical waterways. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a blunt warning to Tehran on May 21, telling reporters that a diplomatic deal between the United States and Iran will be "unfeasible" if Tehran implements a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz: "No one is in favor of a tolling system, it can't happen, it would be unacceptable and it would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible." Rubio added: "It's a threat to the world if they were to try to do that, and it's completely illegal by the way."
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority: A New Bureaucracy Controlling a Global Chokepoint
Iran's toll system is not a rumour or a threat — it is already operational in its bureaucratic foundations. On May 16, 2026, the chairman of Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee confirmed that Tehran will "unveil soon" the full details of a new mechanism to regulate maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including fees collected for what Iranian officials describe as "specialized services." The mechanism is administered by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a recently established body that vets and approves transits through the chokepoint. Vessels seeking transit must apply via email to the PGSA, disclosing ownership, insurance, crew manifests, and cargo before being granted a permit.
Iran began controlling traffic through the strait and charging tolls of over $1 million per ship — an extraordinary levy on an international waterway that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) designates as a strait used for international navigation, in which all states enjoy the right of transit passage that cannot be impeded or suspended. US Secretary of State Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the issue in April and agreed that "no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls to pass through international waterways" — a rare moment of US-China alignment on a geopolitical question. For authoritative international legal analysis of transit passage rights through strategic straits under UNCLOS, the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea publishes the full treaty text and legal commentaries that govern these situations.
The Maritime Freedom Construct: Washington's Diplomatic Instrument
The Strait of Hormuz has effectively been closed since the war started on February 28, and few ships have since passed through despite the ceasefire with Iran that started on April 7. Some countries, particularly Britain and France, have offered to help reopen and police the strait, but they do not want to join any offensive operations, so efforts hinge on a durable ceasefire and political deal. Rubio and the State Department, meanwhile, are pushing for a diplomatic effort called the Maritime Freedom Construct, that would form a coalition to help deal with the strait. The construct is envisioned as a multilateral framework — distinct from the offensive Operation Epic Fury — that could provide the legal and operational scaffolding for a European-led escorted convoy system once a ceasefire holds.
Germany's Minehunter Moves to the Mediterranean — Ready at Short Notice
While Washington builds its diplomatic coalition, Germany has taken concrete preparatory military action. The German Navy's mine countermeasures vessel Fulda has been deployed to the Mediterranean as part of a NATO mine countermeasures group — initially for forward positioning. The deployment will "save valuable time in bringing the Fulda's highly regarded mine countermeasures capabilities into operation within the alliance." Whether a deployment to the Strait of Hormuz will actually take place depends on political decisions and further developments in the conflict. With its deployment to the Mediterranean, the Fulda is now available at short notice should hostilities cease and the German Bundestag grant a mandate to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
NATO will deploy to the Strait so long as the US and Iran agree to a sustained ceasefire and an international legal mandate for a defensive operation is secured. Berlin's decision comes in anticipation of such an effort. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany could contribute mine clearance and maritime intelligence capabilities to such a mission, but would need parliamentary support and a "secure legal basis" such as a UN Security Council resolution. He added: "If possible, we would also like to see the United States of America participate; we believe this would be desirable." Germany's mine countermeasures capability is particularly significant: Iran has deployed naval mines in the Strait — the Fulda is specifically designed to detect and neutralise them, equipped with an advanced sonar system and two remotely-operated vehicles able to identify objects on the seabed at depths of up to approximately 600 metres.
The Broader Coalition: Italy, the EU's Aspides, and a Boeing E-7 Spy Plane
Germany is not the only European nation pre-positioning assets. Italy is committed to sending two minehunters — the Rimini and the Crotone — in addition to the Raimondo Montecuccoli patrol vessel and the Atlante logistic support vessel. At the EU level, Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief, told reporters that Operation Aspides — which already makes a crucial contribution protecting shipping in the Red Sea — could also be extended to the Strait of Hormuz, though any such expansion "requires the change of the operational plan" and discussions with EU members are ongoing. The coalition is also eyeing air surveillance assets: a Boeing E-7 Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft has been identified as a potential contributor, providing this capability within the multinational mission to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Why the Toll System Is a Deal-Breaker — And Iran Knows It
The strategic logic of Iran's toll system is not primarily economic — at $1 million per ship, revenues would be significant but not transformative for a sanctions-battered economy. The logic is political and precedent-setting. If Tehran can establish that it has the right to charge — and the world pays — it permanently alters the legal status of the Strait from an international waterway governed by UNCLOS to a de facto Iranian territorial resource. "We've always said a tolling system in the strait would be unacceptable," Rubio told reporters. "No one in the world is in favor of a tolling system. It can't happen." Washington has declared it will not tolerate any attempt by Iran to control or monetise access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, characterising the toll proposal as a direct threat to global trade and freedom of navigation. The question now is whether Tehran will use the toll system as a negotiating chip to extract concessions — or whether it is genuinely committed to permanently changing the rules of the waterway regardless of any deal. The answer to that question will determine whether peace talks succeed or collapse entirely.