The Strait of Hormuz will reopen but under new conditions set by Iran and Oman, including transit fees, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow said on Monday, reaffirming a position Washington has firmly rejected.
“Of course, this strait will be open, but with new conditions to be determined by the Iranian and Omani authorities,” Ambassador Kazem Jalali told the Russian newspaper Izvestia. “We understand that Iran and Oman provide certain services related to this strait. And fees will be charged for those services,” he said, without elaborating.
Iran has previously asserted that a permanent peace deal should allow it to charge fees for ships transiting the strait, varying by vessel type, cargo and prevailing conditions.
US President Donald Trump has vehemently opposed any such arrangement. In late May, Washington warned Oman not to participate in any Iranian toll scheme, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Oman’s ambassador had told him no such plans were in place.
Japan, which imported around 95% of its oil from the Middle East before the war, said it had not paid a fee after a Japan-linked crude tanker passed through the waterway in May.
The strait carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows before the US-Israeli war on Iran largely cut off traffic. Several tankers have managed to exit the Gulf in recent weeks, but flows remain severely constrained.
(Reuters)