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Akbar Novruz

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Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Thursday that future arrangements for transiting the Strait of Hormuz do not include fees, AzerNEWS reports.

During a meeting in Bahrain between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Albusaidi emphasized the importance of restoring safe shipping on the critical naval route and ensuring that the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran achieves its goals of supporting regional peace and stability.

Oman established a shipping transit corridor in the Strait yesterday, in coordination with the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO), which was criticized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Corps Guard as a "major risk."

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Thursday that the meeting he had with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was "very productive."

Speaking from Manama, Bahrain, Rubio shared that the Gulf countries gave "zero" support to the idea of tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, reiterating that a tolling system "isn't even workable." The US official stressed that Washington wouldn't do anything that would undermine its Gulf partners.

The US is interested in whether or not ships are moving through the waterway, Rubio remarked, adding that if they are not moving, "that would be a direct violation of our agreement with Iran." Talking about a reconstruction fund for Iran, he mentioned that this topic was not discussed during the meeting.