PARIS: Iranian state media reported that a parliamentary commission had approved plans to impose tolls on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway vital to oil and gas shipments that has been effectively closed due to the Middle East war.
Citing a member of the parliament’s security commission, state TV said the plan involved, among other things, “financial arrangements and rial toll systems” and “implementing the sovereign role of Iran”, as well as cooperation with Oman on the other side of the strait.
Fars news agency earlier quoted the chairman of the parliamentary civil affairs committee as saying that Iran must collect fees to ensure the security of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran has disrupted maritime transit through the strait for vessels it says are linked to its war adversaries and their allies.
Maritime monitors indicate that a handful of vessels are still crossing daily through the strait, which is guarded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, with some taking a Tehran-approved route through the waterway.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced this week that Iran has allowed 20 more ships to pass through Hormuz, noting the move would help usher stability in the conflict-ridden region.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump last week claimed 10 oil tankers were allowed transit the Strait of Hormuz as an apparent goodwill gesture in negotiation with Iran.
Trump made the comments at a Cabinet meeting in the White House, elaborating on what he had previously described as a “present” from Tehran.
