Iran envoy says friendly nations to get ‘special’ Hormuz fee treatment

Iran plans to implement new fees for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a move that has been met with rejection from Washington. Iran's ambassador to China, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, insisted on Saturday that these charges would be applied, while also assuring that "friendly" nations would receive preferential treatment.

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As a country where the Hormuz is part of its territorial waters, we will definitely charge service fees

Speaking at the World Peace Forum in Beijing, Fazli explained that Iran is collaborating with Oman on "new arrangements" for the strait, which is part of Iran's territorial waters. He clarified that these fees would not constitute a "toll" but would cover services such as guaranteeing passage security, supervising vessel traffic, and managing environmental consequences arising from the high volume of ships.

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These new arrangements will be concerning guaranteeing the security of passage through the Straits of Hormuz, supervision of the passage of the vessels… and also guaranteeing and dealing with the environmental consequences of the massive number of ships

"We will definitely consider special treatment for the countries that were friendly to us and specially stood by us during the hard times," Fazli added. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint, normally carrying one-fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas. It was previously closed by Iran during the Middle East war, causing energy prices to surge. Iran lifted the blockade after reaching an initial deal with the U.S. to end the conflict, with negotiations for a permanent settlement still ongoing.

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We will definitely consider special treatment for the countries that were friendly to us and specially stood by us during the hard times