Iran insists on keeping control over Hormuz
IRAN WANTS PERPETUAL CONTROL OF HORMUZ Live Events IRAN BELIEVES IT HAS A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY, SOURCE SAYS 'NEITHER SIDE THINKS THEY HAVE LOST' as a
IRAN WANTS PERPETUAL CONTROL OF HORMUZ Live Events IRAN BELIEVES IT HAS A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY, SOURCE SAYS 'NEITHER SIDE THINKS THEY HAVE LOST' as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Dubai/London: Iran is determined to win international recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz and ability to levy fees on ships entering or leaving the Gulf even if it has to do so by force, two senior Iranian sources said.Under this month's interim deal with the U.S. to end their three-month conflict, Iran agreed to let ships pass through the Strait for 60 days without charge. But it believes the wording of the agreement allows it to keep control of which ships may pass and which route they take through the narrow waterway.It is also determined to secure lasting formal acceptance of this control once the interim phase expires, and its negotiators will not move to other areas of dispute in ongoing peace talks with Washington until that has been agreed, the sources said.If the interim deal ends without being extended, Iran would start charging ships for passage in mid-August, though it has not yet laid out any list of what fees it will charge or how.
Iran closed the Strait when the war began and Iranian officials have said authorities charged some vessels navigation or other fees to leave the Gulf.Any lasting Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, with formalities and fees for ships, would add costs, delays and risks to all shipping through a waterway that before the war transported a fifth of global energy supplies plus other critical goods.Passage through the Strait was never previously subject to fees and Tehran's position runs directly counter to U.S. interpretations of the interim Memorandum of Understanding agreed on June 17, and to Washington's stance on what the ultimate post-war arrangements will be.U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that there would be no tolls charged for passage through the Strait unless Washington decided to impose them itself. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a meeting with Gulf states that no country had the right to block shipping or impose fees or tolls for passage through an international waterway.Iran interprets the interim deal as meaning it can maintain control over all passage through the Strait, though without collecting fees during the interim phase of the deal, and that while it has to discuss arrangements with Gulf states, it is not obliged to reach an agreement with them, the sources said.Oman stretches along the southern coast of the Strait and Iran is planning talks with the sultanate to define transit paths through the waterway, Tehran said on Monday.However, Iran shot at four ships over the weekend that tried to traverse the Strait on the Omani side without first getting Iranian permission, triggering a brief but intense exchange of fire with the United States.One of the senior officials said Iran would not let the situation return to the pre-war status quo.
The BriefWire