A senior official in Iran’s parliament, Hamidreza Hajibaba’i, said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic has recorded in its accounts the first revenues from tolls to be paid by ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The BBC said that it could not immediately verify the truth of these claims, writes TASR.
In short:
- Iran booked its first revenue from tolls for crossing the Strait of Hormuz
- It is not known in what way and from which ships the fees were collected
- The Parliamentary Security Committee has already approved the plan to introduce the toll
“The first revenues from the tolls in the Strait of Hormuz were deposited into the account of the Central Bank,” said Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Hadžíbájí. Tasnim did not provide further details on how Iran collected the fees or who paid them, according to the agency’s report.
Plans to introduce tolls
Iranian state media reported on March 30 that the parliament’s security committee had approved plans to introduce tolls to cross the strait – but it was unclear whether a final vote had taken place on the proposal, AFP reports.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key energy hub, has become a major flashpoint of tension since the outbreak of war in the Middle East on February 28. Before the current ceasefire, Tehran said it had restricted passage to only so-called “friendly” countries, and there were reports of tariffs being imposed on other vessels passing through the sea route. However, it was not clear at the time whether Iran was actually collecting the fees, or how much.
Fee collection methods
Leading Iranian MP Alireza Salimi told Tasnim on Thursday that he learned from “reliable sources” that Iran is indeed collecting tolls.
“The amount of fees collected from ships varies depending on the type and amount of cargo, as well as the level of risk the ship poses. Iran determines how and to what extent these fees are collected. We set the rules,” he said.
US President Donald Trump already announced on April 12 that he had ordered the US Navy to “find and seize any vessel in international waters that has paid a transit fee to Iran.” But a few days earlier, Trump himself had suggested that the US and Iran could set up a joint venture to collect tolls in the strait.
US forces are currently conducting their own blockade of ships sailing to and from Iranian ports.
