TheStrait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply passes, has become the epicentre of the US-Iran war. Iran is moving to formalise control over the strait with proposed restrictions on “enemy” vessels, potential tolls, and mandatory permissions for passage, signalling a long-term shift in how the route operates. The United States, meanwhile, is scrambling to build an international maritime coalition to secure the waterway.
Since the beginning of the US-Israel-Iran war on February 28, Iran had effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz by attacking and threatening ships. It later offered some ships safe passage via routes closer to its shore based on the country’s relations with Tehran. In some cases, Iran has also charged fees for crossing the waterway.
As Iran choked the Strait of Hormuz for the US and its allies, Washington responded with a naval blockade of Iranian ports since April 13, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
According to Iran’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hamidreza Haji-Babaei, Tehran is preparing a new law to manage the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The deputy speaker said that the new law would prevent Israeli ships from passing through the vital maritime route at any time, asreported by Al Jazeera. The report said that the law would prevent ships from “enemy states” from passing through the strait unless the countries pay “war reparations”, while other ships will be allowed to pass after obtaining approval from Iran.
According to a US State Department cable, seen by Reuters, the Trump administration is seeking participation of other countries to form an international coalition to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the creation of the Maritime Freedom Construct (MFC), the cable dated April 28 said, which it described as a joint initiative by the State Department and the Pentagon. Participation could be in the form of diplomacy, information sharing, sanctions enforcement, naval presence or other forms of support, it said.
The United States has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying ‘Hormuz toll’ to Iran. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control alert on Friday warned against transfers not only in cash but also in “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies.
Apoorva Shukla is a journalist at Times Now, where she thrives on dissecting political developments both at home and abroad. A graduate of Delhi Univ...View More
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