The funeral ceremony of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei continued in Tehran for the second day in a row, as the international conflict and debate over the strategic future of the Strait of Hormuz continued.
Tehran today strongly warned against any suspicious military movement in the strait, with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stressing that Hormuz is not "a military parade arena for non-regional forces."
In a statement today, Abadi stressed that the countries bordering the strait are the only party responsible for ensuring its security, explaining: "As the responsible force and guarantor of the security of the Strait of Hormuz, we warn against any military movement in it," hinting that anyone who tries to provoke crises will bear the repercussions of his adventures.
Iran plans to impose tariffs to ensure security of navigation in Hormuz
In a related context, Tehran has put forward a new vision for what it calls a "service allowance" to ensure the security of navigation.
Iran's ambassador to China, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, said his country intends to impose these fees as a party that owns part of the strait's territorial waters.
During his participation in the World Peace Forum in Beijing, the Iranian ambassador stressed that they are not "tolls" in the traditional legal sense, noting that countries classified by Tehran as "friendly countries", led by China, will receive "special" treatment and facilities related to these fees.
Fazli stressed that Tehran is currently coordinating with the Sultanate of Oman to make new arrangements for this waterway.
Western move and Muscat's position
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a joint statement their readiness to deploy a multinational military task force to support freedom of navigation in the strait.
"The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for the global economy," a joint statement said, noting that the restoration of safe passage of ships is an issue of concern to the entire international community.
London and Paris pledged to work with Oman to ensure that Muscat's sovereign territorial waters are safe for international navigation. Despite this move, the Sultanate of Oman is keen to uphold international law, with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, during his recent visit to Paris, affirming his commitment to unconditional and unrestricted freedom of navigation.
The complexities of navigation on the ground
Despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran on June 18 , which called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the maritime reality remains turbulent.
Data tracking the return of about 8 ships, including oil and cargo tankers, were tracked after they tried to leave the Persian Gulf via the route adjacent to the Omani coast, before some decided to follow the route imposed by Tehran near its coast.
Despite the high daily transit rates since the signing of the memorandum, experts say it could take months to return to normal levels, given the need to clear the corridor of mines and coordinate transit procedures, which Tehran is still trying to control through radio warnings to ships.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Arabian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, is one of the most sensitive and influential waterways in the global economy.
The Importance of Hormuz
Its strategic importance lies in its being the glass neck through which the majority of oil and liquefied gas exports from the Gulf Arab countries cross into global markets, especially major Asian markets such as China, Japan and South Korea.
The strait has become an arena for geopolitical tug-of-war between regional and international powers, as in times of crisis, Iran is waving the card of closing the strait as a strategic pressure tool in the face of Western sanctions or military threats.
Since the outbreak of the last war, international concerns about the impact of the disruption of navigation on global energy prices have mounted, with Tehran asserting that it has sovereign rights to manage the corridor and inspect ships, which the United States and its Western allies reject, who insist that the strait should remain an open international corridor in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
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