The warning could not be clearer. Sen. Marco Rubio says he’s “not popping champagne,” even as quiet diplomacy races against a ticking clock in the Persian Gulf. Pakistan’s army chief is flying into Tehran. The EU is sharpening sanctions. Iran is threatening a “toll” on the world’s oil lifeline. One misstep, one refusal, and Washington’s mysterious “Plan B” ign…

Rubio’s caution masks a grim calculation: if Iran turns the Strait of Hormuz into a pay-to-pass chokepoint, the confrontation will not stay on paper. Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil moves through that narrow waterway. Any effort to “tax” it, he warns, is not just provocative but “completely illegal” and a “threat to the world.” Behind the careful phrasing lies a bipartisan understanding in Washington and European capitals that this is a red line, not a debating point.

As Pakistan shuttles messages between Washington and Tehran, and EU officials quietly target the architects of the blockade, the clock is running on diplomacy. Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah’s defiance, and Iran’s new “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” all push the region closer to a dangerous edge. Trump may sound “cautiously optimistic” about a deal, but Rubio’s talk of “Plan B” hangs over everything like a storm about to break.