Iranian Lawmaker Says Ships From China, India, Iraq and Qatar Are Exempt From Strait of Hormuz Transit Restrictions

Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the Iranian Students' News Agency on November 3 that Iran has exempted vessels from India, China, Iraq and Qatar from its transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, and that ships from the four countries can pass through the waterway freely.

Hayat-Moghaddam gave different reasons for each exemption: passage for Indian ships was meant to facilitate imports of medicines from India, while the exemption for China was aimed at securing Beijing's political support. He said Iran still collects transit fees from Indian and Chinese vessels, while Qatari ships pass without such charges; he did not say whether Iraqi ships pay. He also said the United States does not intercept the exempted countries' ships either.

No official document has yet confirmed the arrangement. The Hindu BusinessLine reported on November 4, citing Indian sources, that Tehran had not formally communicated any exemption to New Delhi, that existing procedures for Indian ships had not changed, and that it was unclear under what authority the statement was made or whether the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps endorsed it.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global oil and gas shipments. Tankers have repeatedly struck mines and caught fire near the strait in recent weeks; Iran said on November 4 that four more tankers had hit mines and caught fire south of the strait and that it had seized two other vessels, and it has said the strait will reopen only if Washington gives a clear answer and implements its seven conditions.

Related: Iran's Revolutionary Guard Says Four Tankers Hit Mines South of the Strait of Hormuz

Related: Iran Says the Strait of Hormuz Will Reopen Only If Its Seven Conditions Are Met

Source: Iranian Students' News Agency

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：波斯湾一艘油轮在伊拉克 Al Basrah 石油终端装载原油资料图。公共领域，美国海军照片，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: An oil tanker taking on crude oil at Iraq's Al Basrah Oil Terminal in the Persian Gulf, file photo. Public domain, U.S. Navy photo, via Wikimedia Commons.