Iran exempts India, China, Iraq and Qatar from transit restrictions in Strait of Hormuz
Commercial ships from four countries, including India and China, have been exempted by Iran from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, a top Iranian official said. This comes amid continued attacks on vessels attempting to cross the strategic waterway.
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“We have currently exempted four countries – India, China, Iraq and Qatar – from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Ships from these countries pass freely, and the Americans do not intercept them either,” Amir Hayat Moghadam, Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said in an interview with the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) on Tuesday.
He told the semi-official news agency that the measure to exempt ships from these four countries from restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz is also aimed at shoring up “mutual interests”.
Notably, Tehran is facilitating the movement of ships from India for the purpose of medicines, said Moghaddam, and added that Chinese ships are exempted from the restrictions to “secure” Beijing’s political support.
He stated that Indian and Chinese ships paid the transit fees to Tehran, while ships from Qatar were allowed free passage through the strategic waterway. However, he did not share whether Iraqi vessels had to pay any fee.
Moqaddam said the exemptions are based on specific considerations and mutual interests.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. It handles roughly 20 per cent of global energy supplies in normal times. Shipping through the waterway remain severely disrupted since February 28, when the US and Israel launched deadly strikes on Iran, triggering retaliatory attacks.
Iran shut the waterway soon after the US-Israeli bombing began, while Washington responded weeks later with a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that 23 Indian nationals, including 15 Indian seafarers, have lost their lives in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Five more Indian nationals have died in attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea region, while two others remain missing.