Rubio: We Need A “Plan B” If Iran Keeps The Strait of Hormuz Closed, “Someone’s Going To Have To Do Something About It”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. must prepare a “Plan B” if Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that “someone’s going to have to do something about it.” At a press conference at a NATO meeting in Sweden, Rubio said the international community can not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be closed indefinitely, suggesting allied nations may eventually need to take action to reopen the shipping lane. “What if Iran decides we refuse to open the straits, we’re going to own the straits, and we’re going to charge tolls for it?” Rubio asked. “At that point, something has to be done about it, and I would argue that there are countries represented here today that are more deeply impacted by this than even the United States is.”
REPORTER: Have you made progress today, sir, with the allies on getting the Strait of Hormuz fully back up and running? SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: No, I would be pretty ambitious to be able to open the straits at this meeting here today, but I can tell you that what I hope there is, this is what I hope for, and this is the point I made, is we all would love to see an agreement with Iran in which the straits are open and they abandon their nuclear ambitions and so forth, their nuclear weapons ambitions. That’s what we would all hope for, and that’s what we’re going to continue to work on, and that’s what work is ongoing even as I speak to you now in that regard. But we also have to have a Plan B, and Plan B is what if Iran refuses to open the straits? What if Iran decides we refuse to open the straits, we’re going to own the straits, and we’re going to charge tolls for it? At that point, something has to be done about it, and I would argue that there are countries represented here today that are more deeply impacted by this than even the United States is. So all I’m saying, and I’ve said, and I think this has been reiterated by others, there are other countries that agree with me on this, is that we have to start thinking about what do we do if a few weeks from now Iran decides we don’t care, we’re going to keep the straits closed, we’re going to sink any ship that doesn’t listen to us or doesn’t pay us. Then someone’s going to have to do something about it. They’re not just going to voluntarily reopen the straits in that scenario. So we have to start thinking about it. I raised that point today. I got a lot of nods. I got a lot of people that came up to me afterwards and acknowledged it, but we don’t have an announcement for you today in terms of something that’s happening. I know there’s a plan in place for what to do if the shooting stops. It’s what the French UK initiative talks about when the conditions are set. What they mean by when the conditions are set is when no one is shooting. But we have to have a Plan B for it. If someone is shooting, then how do you reopen the straits? So I made that point today. I don’t know if that would be a NATO mission necessarily, but it would certainly be NATO countries that can contribute to it.
