US seeks Iran deal, but 'not at any price,' Rubio says

US seeks Iran deal, but 'not at any price,' Rubio says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington would not accept any Iran deal allowing Tehran to impose fees on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, warning it would cause "total chaos." His remarks came after an attack on a vessel forced the United Nations to suspend mariner evacuation efforts. Washington's top diplomat said Thursday there are limits to what it would accept in any Iran deal, as an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz led the UN to suspend an effort to evacuate trapped mariners. Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- in Bahrain as part of a regional tour to reassure Gulf partners hit hard by the Middle East war -- also dismissed the idea of allowing Tehran to charge fees in the strait, saying it would open the door to "total chaos". The United States and Iran have signed a preliminary deal to end the conflict launched by the United States and Israel in late February, embarking on negotiations expected to address Tehran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and global energy flows through the strait, where Iran has repeatedly targeted civilian vessels. But Gulf countries and Israel also have longstanding concerns about Iran's support for proxies in the region and its missile programme, and it remains unclear whether those topics will be handled in the talks. After meeting with Rubio on Thursday, foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council emphasised that "lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran's threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones and support of proxies". Read moreMaritime traffic picks up in Strait of Hormuz, but uncertainty lingers Attack on cargo ship Earlier, Rubio acknowledged that while the United States wants "a deal, we don't want a deal at any price". "We want to ensure... that there is no part of this deal that's undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region," he said. Rubio also sought to reassure the energy-rich Gulf states that the Strait of Hormuz, which they have relied on for decades to export oil and liquefied natural gas, would remain toll-free. Iran imposed a blockade of the strait during the war, sparking a global economic shock, and has since said it plans to introduce what it terms maritime service fees, with the Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warning that any unauthorised crossings would be "dealt with". Oman had released a map on Wednesday of a new temporary shipping route running close to its coast. It said the path through the strait was coordinated with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a UN agency responsible for marine safety. Iran later appeared to denounce the new corridor in a statement by the Revolutionary Guards, but did not refer to Oman specifically. The British maritime security agency UKMTO said Thursday that a cargo ship in the strait was "hit on the starboard side by an unknown projectile, causing damage to the bridge", but reporting no casualties. It said the incident occurred just 7.5 nautical miles (14 kilometres) off Oman's coast. The secretary general of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, then announced the suspension of efforts to evacuate the 600 ships and their crews that were trapped by the war. "I have decided to temporarily pause (the evacuation plan's) implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region," Dominguez said in a statement. The vessel that was hit on Thursday was not travelling under the IMO's evacuation framework, which began on Tuesday evening, Dominguez said. Read moreRubio assures Gulf allies US will protect interests in Iran peace talks 'Unrestricted navigation' The United States and its allies have flatly rejected the introduction of fees or tolls, with Rubio reiterating Washington's position that the Strait of Hormuz should be considered an international waterway and therefore not subject to charges. "International waterways do not belong to any nation state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos," he said. The Gulf ministers, in their joint statement, also insisted that "free, unconditional and unrestricted navigation" of the strait was essential to the region. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman that leads to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, making it a chokepoint for crucial energy shipments out of the Gulf. At Thursday's Gulf meeting with Rubio, Oman's top diplomat Badr Albusaidi said plans for Hormuz "do not entail the imposition of any transit fees" -- despite his government and Iran saying Tuesday that they were studying costs to be charged for services provided in the strait. The memorandum of understanding signed last week by Tehran and Washington stipulated that commercial ships may transit the strait free of charge for the next 60 days. It is unclear what arrangements will be in place after that period. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)