Iran envoy pledges preferential Hormuz fees for China and allied states

Tehran's ambassador in Beijing has indicated that Iran plans to introduce new charges for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while suggesting that China and other nations on good terms with Iran could receive favourable treatment.

A temporary ceasefire agreement reached with the United States last month allowed commercial vessels to use the critical passage without payment for sixty days. It remains uncertain what rules will apply once that period ends. Discussions toward a permanent settlement are still under way, but American officials have stated that Iran would not be allowed to impose tolls or fees on strait traffic under any final accord.

Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli spoke at the World Peace Forum in Beijing on Saturday. He said Iran is working alongside Oman to develop updated arrangements for the waterway.

"As a country where the Hormuz is part of its territorial waters, we will definitely charge service fees," Fazli said in translated remarks, while stressing that such payments would not amount to a "toll".

"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," he said, according to the AFP news agency.

Iran's NourNews agency also quoted him as saying that "special considerations" would be applied to China and other friendly nations in determining the level and type of service fees for vessels passing through the waterway.

In quieter times, roughly one-fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas moves through the strait. The route was largely closed off after Iran shut it during fighting that the United States and Israel began in late February, pushing energy prices sharply upward.

In April, Washington placed a matching naval blockade on southern Iranian ports in an effort to curb Tehran's oil exports.

Fazli maintained that the strait has become a security matter since the four-month conflict involving the US and Iran. He added that fresh Hormuz arrangements would be shaped through cooperation with Oman. The two countries lie on opposite sides of the channel and have set up a joint committee to decide how the strategic passage will be managed.