The “Iran International” website stated that Iranian rhetoric is increasingly focused on presenting control of the Strait of Hormuz not only as a strategic priority, but also as a financial resource that can be exploited to offset the costs of the war.
The website said: “According to international media reports, including Bloomberg and Lloyd’s List Intelligence, Iran has begun imposing fees on oil tankers for safe passage through the Strait. Iranian media outlets, including the Mehr Agency and Tabnak, which is linked to Mohsen Rezaei, had previously spoken about looking at the Strait as a potential source of revenue. Reports indicate that Tehran is charging about two million dollars for each tanker, without it being clear yet what currency is used or who receives it.” These payments are in light of the US sanctions that hinder Iranian international banking transactions. Earlier, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that various countries and oil companies must communicate directly with Tehran to coordinate safe passage. This proposal was also echoed in Iranian political comments, as the newspaper “Javan”, which is close to the “Revolutionary Guards”, wrote that Mojtaba Khamenei was the one who first proposed this concept.
He added: “In an editorial entitled “The Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s trump card in the post-war system,” the newspaper considered that the waterway should be transformed into a strategic lever for the Islamic Republic and “the most important fund to compensate for Iran’s losses in the war.” It added that Iran needs a comprehensive, multi-level doctrine to prevent circumvention of the new arrangements, with fees determined according to “the nature of the shipment” and “the degree of cooperation of the country of origin of the ship with the aggressor countries.” The newspaper estimated that the countries of the region will need, within this framework, to pay “$50” for each barrel to compensate for Iran’s losses and contribute to reconstruction. She also indicated that ships belonging to Israel and the United States would be prevented from entering the strait even if they raised different flags, adding that their crossing would only be possible in exchange for lifting one sanctions on Iran at a time.
This proposal, according to the views of Iranian commentators, is based on an interpretation that international law allows countries to impose fees to ensure the safety of waterways under their control. Javan newspaper believes that Iran enjoys a unique strategic position thanks to its control over a number of islands and sensitive sites in the Gulf and on the northern coast of the corridor.
The newspaper concluded that this trend sends a message that the era of free benefit from Gulf security has ended, while the question remains open as to whether the United States, the countries of the region, and its partners in South Asia will agree to this unilateral framework and adhere to its demands.
