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Iran’s parliament has approved a bill to charge a toll on all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz — and it’s already demanding payments of up to $2 million per vessel, putting at least 20% of the global crude oil and gas trade at risk.
The bill to impose transit fees on all ships traveling through the chokepoint in the Persian Gulf was approved by the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, state media reported Monday.
The move is an attempt to enforce Tehran’s “sovereign role” in the waterway, the state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported.
It is expected to pass the final round of approval in parliament soon, according to Russian state media outlet TASS, which has been highly pro-Iran.
The fees would be paid in Iranian rials, although no exact price has been given.
The bill calls for tighter monitoring and control of maritime traffic through the strait, through which flows around 20% of the world’s crude oil and gas.
It would also include a ban on transit by vessels from countries that have imposed sanctions on Iran, including the United States and Israel.
The bill features measures for cooperation with Oman, which is located on the opposite side of the strait.
Selective access would also be allowed for certain countries friendly to the Iranian regime, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iraq, and Bangladesh.
Since the start of the recent conflict in Iran on Feb. 28, maritime traffic through the strait has plunged by about 95%.
This has sent global oil prices skyrocketing, as the cost of a barrel of crude oil spiked at over $100.
Some ships have paid Iranian authorities about $2 million each to pass through the waterway unscathed, the Financial Times reported.
The Strait of Hormuz, which is just 24 miles wide at its narrowest point and 104 miles long, has long been one of the world’s most crucial waterways.
All ships are guaranteed free passage through international straits under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), which bans the imposition of transit fees.
However, Iran has claimed it isn’t bound by this because even though it signed the treaty in 1982, it didn’t ratify it.
It comes after President Trump told The Post that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen “automatically” after the end of the war.
“I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever’s controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait,” President Trump told The Post on Tuesday.
The president has vowed to prioitize ending Iran’s control over the strait, and preventing it from ever holding the global economy to ransom again.
“We are taking the Strait back. It’s guaranteed, and they will never blackmail us on that strait,” one senior administration official told The Post last week. “You can take it to the bank.”
With Post wires.
English (US)