West Asia Crisis / Iran to Charge Fees for Strait of Hormuz Services; Vessels Violating Protocols to Face Restrictions

Tehran, Aug 24: Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), which oversees maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, announced on Sunday that vessels violating Iranian transit protocols could face restrictions on future passage through the waterway.

It made the announcement in a post on social media platform X while listing some of the restrictions as "fines, detention, or confiscation."

The PGSA called on "cargo owners shipping to and from the Persian Gulf" to review the list of "Non-Compliant Vessels" on its website prior to chartering to avoid potential issues, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Hassan Qashqavi, spokesman of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said on Sunday that the committee has approved an article of a draft plan aimed at safeguarding security in the strait, under which the country will charge fees for the services it provides in the waterway, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

He said that the article was approved during the committee's Sunday meeting, saying based on it, fees will be charged for the navigation, environmental services, refueling under special conditions, insurance and safety services provided by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump has described the Strait of Hormuz as American territory while declaring that Iran would never be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Trump made the remarks at a campaign rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he sought support for Republican Senate candidate Darlene Graham ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election.

“They wanna make a deal so badly,” Trump said while discussing Iran. He then referred to the strategically important waterway and declared: “It's an American territory.”

Also Read: Donald Trump Boasts US’ ‘Total Control’ over Strait of Hormuz

The President did not explain the legal or territorial basis for the assertion.

Trump also suggested the conflict with Iran had interrupted his domestic economic programme.

“I hate to do this, but we're gonna have to take a little detour down to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we're gonna have to put out the nuclear weapons stuff because they're gonna have a nuclear weapon and we cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

“We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump added.

Following joint strikes on Iranian territory by Israel and the United States, Iran on February 28 tightened restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, barring safe passage for vessels belonging to or affiliated with the two countries.

(IANS)