A linguistic sleight of hand at the heart of the US-Iran ceasefire framework has emerged as a flashpoint, with Tehran's state-affiliated media claiming Washington effectively recognized Iran's right to levy maritime service charges on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz — a reading that stands in direct contradiction to how the Trump administration has publicly characterized the deal.
The memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, set to be formally signed on June 19, has been described by President Donald Trump as guaranteeing the waterway will remain "permanently toll-free." In a phone interview with The New York Times, Trump called this a signature achievement of the agreement, and on Truth Social he announced he was fully authorizing a "toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz" alongside the immediate removal of the US naval blockade.
Fars News Agency, which carries strong ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported Monday that last-minute revisions to the MOU's final text went significantly further than earlier drafts. Citing a well-placed source, the outlet said the revised language explicitly affirms that Iran and Oman will jointly determine the future of maritime navigation management through the strait — and crucially, that the phrase "maritime services" was inserted into the text. According to the source, this specific wording amounts to a formal US acceptance of Iran's right to charge fees for services such as safety, navigation, environmental protection, and insurance rendered to commercial ships.
The distinction between a "toll" and a "service fee" is not a trivial semantic quarrel — it has been carefully cultivated by Tehran over months as a legal and political firebreak. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei articulated the position plainly in late May, stating that Iran does not impose tolls, but that vessels benefit from services that require compensation. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated on June 14 that under international law, levying a toll on passage through Hormuz is impermissible, but that fees for services provided would be collected and formalized during negotiations. Iran's parliament had already codified this fee framework into domestic law in late March 2026, weeks before any MOU draft existed, and the Persian Gulf Shipping Administration was formally constituted in May to administer it.
The source cited by Fars described the 60-day toll-free window not as a concession Iran made, but as a grace period that American negotiators obtained. After that window closes, Iran intends to channel revenues from the strait into national economic development. The source also said that negotiations with Oman — whose coastline forms the other side of the narrow waterway — have already been concluded, clearing what Tehran had described as a prerequisite for the fee system to be jointly administered and internationally defensible. Iran's Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, had previously confirmed to the Russian outlet Izvestia that Iran and Oman would together determine transit conditions, framing the arrangement as payment for services rather than sovereign levies.
The Council on Foreign Relations analyst Elisa Ewers, a senior fellow for Middle East studies, noted that how Hormuz's reopening is managed will require close monitoring, adding that getting as close as possible to the pre-war status quo would be critical not only for global commerce but also for avoiding setting dangerous precedents for other international waterways. Her concern echoed a warning issued earlier by the United Nations International Maritime Organization, which stated that no international agreement permits tolls on transiting international straits and that any such imposition would set a dangerous precedent.
The IRGC separately published a 14-point summary of what it claims the MOU contains, including a provision for Hormuz to reopen within 30 days "under Iranian arrangements." That document made no mention of whether fees would be charged during the initial period. Neither the United States nor Pakistan, which has served as a key mediator in the negotiations, has released the actual text of the agreement, leaving the competing interpretations unchecked against a common source of record.
The gap between Washington's and Tehran's accounts of what the MOU actually commits each side to will likely define the 60-day negotiating period ahead. Iran's deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the MOU text had been finalized, saying certain Iranian revisions were accepted following escalation in Lebanon. Before the signing ceremony on Friday in Europe, both sides may have little incentive to resolve the ambiguity publicly — but the shipping industry, global energy markets, and regional allies watching from the Gulf will be waiting to see which interpretation ultimately governs passage through one of the world's most consequential stretches of water.