Iran has asserted expanded control over the Strait of Hormuz, publishing a map showing its claims extending into the coastal waters of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and holding talks with Oman about sharing fees from ships traversing the waterway. The move was denounced on Friday as unacceptable by US Secretary of State Mario Rubio, who urged all countries to oppose it, and prompted a letter of protest from five Gulf states. US President Donald Trump on Thursday stressed, “We want [the Strait of Hormuz] open, we want it free. We don’t want tolls. It’s an international waterway.” Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority announced the new arrangements on Wednesday, declaring there would henceforth be a “controlled maritime zone” at the strait.
The authority set the zone as the “line connecting Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern side of the strait, to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western side of the strait,” and published a map of the designated area in both English and Persian. “Transit in this zone for passage through the Strait of Hormuz requires coordination with the Persian Gulf Strait Authority and permission from this entity,” it declared. On Friday, The New York Times reported that Iran has been holding talks with Oman on charging fees from ships that traverse the strait, with the US-allied Gulf state potentially sharing in the profits, despite Washington’s insistence that freedom of navigation be restored to the blockaded waterway.
Two people familiar with the talks cited by the Times said that the discussions are ostensibly about fees, which are charged for services rendered to transiting vessels, rather than about tolls, which are charged for the transit itself and are illegal under international law. “Still, if the fee system is just a toll by another name, it will not be considered legal,” the report quoted experts saying. Oman, a US ally, originally dismissed the idea of partnering with Iran in the strait, but has more recently realized the scheme could benefit Muscat and expressed willingness to push the plan with Gulf neighbors and with the US, the Times said, citing two Iranian officials.
...It further reported that five other Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have written to the global shipping watchdog, the International Maritime Authority, denouncing the move and urging that it be prevented. (Read More)
