Iran says Hormuz transit will remain free but ships must cover operational costs

Iran said it will not impose a transit fee on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipowners will be required to cover operational costs related to maritime security, environmental protection and navigation management.

According to the Tehran Times, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran was not seeking to charge ships simply for transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Baghaei said the technical services provided in the waterway, including maritime security, environmental protection and navigational assistance, carried operational costs. He added that the arrangement should not be interpreted as a transit passage fee.

The spokesman stressed that Iran and Oman, as the two littoral states, bore primary responsibility for security in the Strait of Hormuz.

Dismissing reports suggesting European countries could take part in managing the waterway, Baghaei asked whether any neighboring country other than Iran and Oman existed in the Strait of Hormuz.

Baghaei said Iran and Oman believed the maritime route should remain open to free trade and safe navigation, while warning that any future aggression against Iran could trigger broader regional consequences.

Iran announced on May 18 that it had established an official state agency to oversee the Strait of Hormuz.

The newly created body was also tasked with providing real-time and updated information on operations in the waterway.

One day before that announcement, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, said Tehran had developed a professional mechanism regulating passage through the waterway along designated routes and that the system envisaged paid transit.

Following those developments, Iran’s ambassador to France, Mohammad Amin Nejad, told Bloomberg that Tehran was holding talks with Oman on establishing a permanent toll system for passage through the strait.

Ambassador Amin Nejad said it was natural for those benefiting from the maritime route and the activity surrounding it to contribute their share.

The US opposes the introduction of a toll system in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said he was firmly against such a measure and wanted the waterway to remain open.

Trump said he did not want any fees imposed for passage because the strait was an international waterway.

Meanwhile, a draft agreement planned between the parties that would extend a ceasefire for 60 days includes a clause stipulating that the Strait of Hormuz remain open without any transit charges.

According to a draft text reviewed by Axios, the US also committed to lifting the blockade on Iranian ports.

However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the issue of managing the Strait of Hormuz had been removed from the agreement with the US and would be handled solely by the littoral states.

Iran has previously attempted to introduce paid passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

At the end of March, Tehran decided to impose a $2 million fee on certain vessels transiting the waterway.