Iran has indicated that it may soon impose new rules for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. At the World Peace Forum held in China, Iran’s Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that Iran and Oman are jointly preparing a new arrangement for this important sea route. Under this, service fees will be charged from ships, movement of ships will be monitored and attention will also be paid to the protection of the marine environment.
Fazli said that Iran will definitely collect service fees from ships, but it should not be called a toll tax. According to him, this fee will be for maritime services and surveillance arrangements. He also said that the countries which supported Iran in difficult times may get special concessions or different treatment in this new system. However, he did not tell which countries would get this facility.
Movement of ships continues in the Strait of Hormuz
On the other hand, American officials say that despite the tension, the southern sea route of the Strait of Hormuz is still open and ships are continuously passing through there. According to American media reports, about 50 ships have passed through this route in recent days. US officials also claimed that most of the ships were traveling with their Electronic Identification System (AIS) turned off. By doing this their location is not visible on public tracking systems and it becomes difficult to monitor them.
An American official alleges that Iranian security forces are trying to intimidate or put pressure on the ships by contacting them through VHF radio. However, despite these claims, the movement of ships is continuing and maritime traffic has not been completely affected.
IRGC’s message to America-Israel
The Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that it will continue to follow the path of its slain leaders and soldiers. IRGC said that it will continue to protect the Strait of Hormuz and will not give up its resolve to take revenge from America and Israel. The organization says that under its new leadership this campaign will continue as before.
Also read: Fear of 3,000 deaths at Khamenei’s funeral, why did Iran make such huge preparations?
Leave a Reply