Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency has reported that the country’s central bank has received its first revenue from a toll system imposed on the Strait of Hormuz, with the announcement made today by Iranian Parliament Deputy Speaker Hamid-Reza Haji Babaei; last month, Iran’s parliamentary security commission approved a plan to levy tolls on vessels passing through the strait, triggering strong reactions from maritime law experts and U.S. officials across the international arena, as nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) typically transits through this critical route; however, due to U.S. naval blockades at Iranian ports along with recent incidents involving ship attacks and seizures, maritime traffic through the strait has dropped to extremely low levels; Tehran had earlier declared its sovereignty over the strait as a condition for ending the war, and today a member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told Mehr News Agency that a plan to establish full sovereign control over the waterway is currently under review by both the Parliament and the Supreme National Security Council; meanwhile, U.S. media outlet CNN reported that Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers this week on an intelligence assessment indicating that it could take at least six months to fully clear the strait of mines following the end of the conflict.
Iran receives first revenue from Strait of Hormuz tolls
