Iran, Oman mull charging Strait of Hormuz 'maritime service fees'

Iran, Oman mull charging Strait of Hormuz 'maritime service fees' Iran and Oman said Tuesday they would examine charges for what they called maritime service fees in the Strait of Hormuz through a joint working group, pressing ahead with discussions over the strategic waterway despite US opposition to any sort of toll system. Iran and Oman will study the costs to be charged for services provided in administering the Strait of Hormuz, the two countries said Tuesday, insisting they held sovereignty over the waterway. Tehran has repeatedly said it plans to charge what it calls maritime service fees for crossing the strait, as opposed to tolls, a plan fiercely opposed by the United States. In a joint statement on Tuesday, Iran and Oman emphasised their "sovereign rights over their territorial waters", but Muscat's foreign minister said on X that both sides were committed to "toll-free safe passage". They "agreed to maintain their dialogue on this issue through a joint working group between the two foreign ministries", the statement said. The working group was aimed at reaching "agreement on the future administration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the services that will be provided in this regard and the costs associated with them in accordance with international standards", they said. The statement followed meetings in Muscat between top officials from the two nations. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi. Last week, Iran's foreign ministry said the country would impose what it called maritime service fees for crossing the strait. Ghalibaf has said the fees will come into effect after a 60-day period without charges that is stipulated in a memorandum of understanding signed with the United States. The MOU states that Iran and Oman, which border the strait, will discuss its "future administration and maritime services" alongside other Gulf countries. The strait, through which roughly 20 percent of the world's crude oil and liquified natural gas normally transits, was closed by Iran after it came under fire from the United States and Israel. Read moreMore than 12 million oil barrels transited the Strait of Hormuz overnight, Vance says But Iran has since lifted its blockade as part of the deal signed with the US last week. Prior to the memorandum of understanding, Oman had come under fire from US officials over reports it planned to charge joint tolls with Iran. US President Donald Trump has threatened that if Oman tries to control the waterway alongside Iran he will "blow them up". US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also said he will sanction Muscat if it helps impose a tolling system. On Tuesday, Omani Foreign Minister Albusaidi said on X following his meeting with Araghchi and Ghalibaf that "we affirmed commitment to international law and toll-free safe passage". (FRANCE 24 with AFP)