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The Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council announced that his country has collected the first proceeds of the fees for crossing the Strait of Hormuz and deposited them in the Central Bank. In return, the US Central Command revealed that 31 ships were forced to change course within the siege imposed on Iran.
On Thursday, Hamidreza Haji Babaei, deputy speaker of Iran's Shura Council, revealed that his country has begun collecting the first revenues from the fees imposed on the transit of ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian official was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as confirming that these proceeds were deposited in the account of the Central Bank of Iran, noting that the value of the fees varies according to the nature of the ships, the type of goods transported, and the level of associated risks. The White House administration responded The official spokeswoman described Iran's behavior as "blatant piracy," stressing that Iran has turned from a regional naval force into a pirate group, and denied Tehran's control over the vital strait. In the same context, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced via the X platform that its forces forced 31 ships to change course or return to Iranian ports within the naval blockade imposed since April 13. Centcom pointed out that the vast majority of the ships complied with US orders, stressing that most of them were oil tankers, reflecting the effectiveness of the US blockade on Iranian maritime shipping. These developments come in the context of rising maritime tension in the Arabian Gulf, where the Strait of Hormuz constitutes a vital corridor for about 20% of the world's oil supply, making its control a critical international strategic issue.
Source: Al-Wehda Al-Arabia News Portal
