Iranian lawmakers have proposed a plan to impose tolls and taxes on ships passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, local media reported on Thursday (Mar 19).

Officials have said shipping conditions through the waterway will not return to those from before the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28.

We in parliament are pursuing a plan under which countries will pay tolls and taxes to the Islamic Republic if the Strait of Hormuz is used as a secure route for transit, energy and food security,” Tehran lawmaker Somayeh Rafiei was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

“The security of the strait will be established with strength, authority and grandeur by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and countries must pay a tax in return,” she said.

Traffic through the vital strait has been brought to a near-standstill since the start of the war.

Iranian forces have attacked multiple vessels, saying they failed to heed “warnings” against transiting the waterway.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that maritime traffic would “not return to its pre-war status”.

In recent days, Iran has allowed some vessels from countries it considers friendly to pass, while warning it would block ships from countries it says have joined the “aggression” against it.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward said in an analysis on Tuesday that at least five ships exited the strait via Iranian waters on Mar 15 and 16.

A message from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also said “the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used”.

Source: AFP