A fresh and rapidly escalating diplomatic clash between the United States and Iran over control of the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a major threat to the ongoing fragile bilateral peace negotiations, even as both parties have publicly stated that the key waterway remains open to global commercial traffic. The confrontation over Iran’s reported plan to institute a new toll system for vessels passing through the strait has erupted at a particularly sensitive juncture: the two nations are currently in a 60-day negotiation window aimed at forging a final peace agreement, and Iranian negotiators have already confirmed that the disagreement remains far from resolution.