By Elvan Kivilcim
A proposal to collect tolls and taxes from ships using the Strait of Hormuz was brought before the Iranian parliament, a representative in the legislature told Iran's state broadcaster, adding that countries wanting to use the vital waterway as "a secure route for their shipping, energy transit and food security" would have to pay for it.
Any attempt by Iran to police the strait would require regional buy-in, which is unlikely given the current conflict and its impact on Iran's Gulf neighbors along the strait. But Iran's use of force to effectively shut the waterway to Western shipping since the start of the war makes any Iranian proposal over the management of the strait significant.
Leveraging the strait's strategic location would give Iran "a powerful position in the region," said Mohammad Mokhber, who was an adviser to Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei and onetime acting president of the country, the state media reported.
Iran has been blocking foreign tankers from the channel, only allowing select ships to pass through, leading to a jump in energy prices. U.S. forces have attacked Tehran's mine-laying vessels and factories, in an attempt to prevent the country from lining the strait with explosives. President Trump has promised a Navy escort to unblock the waterway and asked countries to join a coalition to escort ships, but several, including Japan and Australia, have refused.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 08:54 ET (12:54 GMT)
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