The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister said today that Iran is working on a protocol with Oman to guarantee, “in times of peace”, the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The draft protocol is in the final stage of preparation. As soon as it is ready, we will begin negotiations with Oman to draw up a joint protocol”, Kazem Gharibabadi told the Russian agency Sputnik, quoted by the Iranian agency Tasnim.
“All ships transiting the strait in times of peace must have the necessary authorizations from the coastal States [Irão e Omã] and obtain them in advance”, added the government official.
In this way, the security of the strait will be guaranteed, and both Iran and Oman will assume greater responsibility in this matter, Gharibabadi highlighted.
Oman mediated the indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington that were interrupted by the Israeli-American strikes on February 28.
According to the Iranian deputy minister, the new requirements should not be seen as restrictions, as their objective is to facilitate traffic and guarantee the safe passage of ships, as well as to provide services to vessels that wish to cross Hormuz without setbacks.
The Iranian parliament’s National Security committee approved this week a bill that establishes the payment of tolls in this strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows, and prohibits the passage of ships from the United States and Israel.
The text does not specify the value of the tolls, but the Iranian agency Tasnim, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, stated that it could be a payment of two million dollars (around 1.7 million euros at the current exchange rate) per ship or a system based on the load of each vessel, such as in the Suez Canal, managed by Egypt.
The Tasnim agency estimates that the Islamic Republic could obtain around 100 billion dollars (around 86.6 billion euros) per year through these tolls, an amount higher than the revenues from the sales of its oil, which are estimated at around 80 billion dollars (around 69.3 billion euros).
According to the same Iranian agency, the deputy minister warned that, even after the war, “some countries could continue to resort to war as a political instrument”.
“In these scenarios, ships belonging to the aggressors and their supporters — whether commercial or military — would not be allowed to transit the strait,” said Gharibabadi, also quoted by Tasnim.
The Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs added, according to Tasnim, that environmental issues and maritime security will also be “fundamental factors in this context”.
More than 40 countries, including Portugal, participated today in a virtual meeting to discuss diplomatic and political measures to lift the Iranian blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
At the beginning of the meeting, the head of British diplomacy, Yvette Cooper, who chaired the meeting, highlighted the “urgent need to restore freedom of navigation for international maritime transport”.
On the meeting’s agenda were “diplomatic and international planning measures”, including “the collective mobilization of the entire range of diplomatic and economic instruments and pressures, the work of guarantees with industry, insurance companies and energy markets”, according to Yvette Cooper.
Lusa
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