Iran plans to charge billions for Hormuz Strait passage

Investing.com -- Iran is working to generate $40 billion annually by charging fees for security, safety and environmental services in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing officials familiar with the matter. The Islamic Republic blocked the waterway at the beginning of the war and now seeks to establish control over the global oil transit route.

Tehran is examining international models such as the Dardanelles, where Turkey collects a gold franc tax from ships traveling between the Aegean Sea and the international waterway, the officials said.

Iran is presenting the proposal to countries across the Middle East and to Beijing, according to Iranian officials. The regime wants Persian Gulf neighbors to participate in the agreement and receive a portion of the revenue, they said.

"Everyone needs to know that management of the strait will never return to the way it was before," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, said during a visit to Oman on Tuesday to discuss the proposed arrangements with its neighbor across the waterway.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposed the plan during a Middle East trip this week, stating Thursday that tolls or fees would set a dangerous precedent that would spread like a contagion and cause chaos. "One thing that came across very clear is there is zero support, zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters," Rubio told reporters in Bahrain.

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