US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made wide-ranging remarks as he left the latest Group of Seven (G7) ministerial meeting in France, condemning Iran’s continued stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Rubio stood on the airport tarmac on Friday, answering questions from journalists about reports that Iran plans to introduce tolls in the strait, a key waterway for global oil supplies.
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Mr. Rubio used the topic to double down on pressure on countries to join in securing the Strait of Hormuz, which U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for.
“One of the challenges we’re going to face in the near term is Iran’s decision that it wants to set up a toll collection system in the Strait of Hormuz,” Rubio said.
“This is not only illegal, it’s unacceptable. It’s dangerous to the world, and it’s important that the world has a plan to counter it. The United States is ready to participate in that plan. We don’t have to lead that plan, but we’re willing to participate.”
He called on G7 countries and Asian countries, including Japan, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the European Union, to “make a significant contribution to that effort.”
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The Strait of Hormuz is a key artery for the global transportation of oil and natural gas, with an average of 20 million barrels of oil passing through the strait per day before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28.
This represents about 20% of the world’s liquid oil supply.
However, since the outbreak of the war, Iran has promised to close the Strait of Hormuz, which borders the country. Most local tanker operations have been halted due to the threat of attack, although some vessels, including those with ties to Iran and China, are allowed to pass.
According to media reports, Iran has set up a “toll booth system” that requires ships passing through to submit requests through the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran’s armed forces. There is also a fee to secure passage.
“They want to make it permanent. That’s unacceptable. The whole world should be outraged by this,” Rubio said Friday.
He added that he had conveyed his warnings about the voting system to his G7 colleagues.
“All we said was, ‘You guys need to do something about it. We’ll help you, but you need to be ready to do something about it, too,'” Rubio said.
“Because if this conflict is over and this operation is over and the Iranian side decides, “Okay, now we control the Strait of Hormuz, and we can only pass through here if we pay for it,” that would not only be illegal under international law and maritime law, it would be unacceptable and it would not be allowed to exist.”
But the Trump administration has struggled to rally allies and world powers to join the U.S. attack on Iran.
Legal experts have criticized the first attack on Iran as an act of unprovoked aggression, but the Trump administration has cited a variety of reasons for launching the attack, including the prospect that Iran could develop nuclear weapons.
Many of the United States’ allies in Europe insist that their involvement be limited to defensive actions. Meanwhile, President Trump slammed NATO allies as “cowards” and added in a social media post: “We will not forget.”
In a statement after the G7 meeting, member states reiterated their position that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must “immediately cease.”
They also stressed that “it is absolutely necessary to permanently restore safe and free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” But the statement did not promise any resources or assistance to the U.S.-Israeli war effort.
Will the goal be achieved “without ground forces”?
It is unclear when the war will end. Saturday marks one month since the four-week event.
Rubio on Friday echoed President Trump’s assessment that the war is proceeding as planned and that the United States is achieving its objectives, including the destruction of Iran’s navy, missile stockpile and uranium enrichment program.
“We’re ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can accomplish them without committing any ground forces,” he said, referring to concerns often raised about the prospect of sending U.S. forces to Iran.
Rubio also briefly mentioned the increasing level of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
This month, footage showed settlers setting fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles and assaulting residents.
On March 19, the United Nations estimated that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Israel began its genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023. International organizations emphasized that a quarter of the victims were young people.
“Well, we are concerned about that and we have expressed that, and I think the Israeli government is concerned about that as well,” Rubio responded, adding that this is “a topic that we are watching very closely.”
He suggested the Israeli government may take action to stop the violence, but critics argue that Israel has largely turned a blind eye to settler violence.
“Maybe they’re settlers, maybe they’re just thugs, but they’re also attacking security forces and Israelis, so you can see the government taking some action,” Rubio said.
When President Trump takes office for his second term in January 2025, he also moved to lift sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of serious human rights violations in the West Bank.
