Iran is considering charging transit fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a lawmaker said on Thursday, as officials in Tehran stepped up rhetoric over the strategic waterway after this week’s attacks on energy sites in the Persian Gulf.
Somayeh Rafiei said lawmakers are pursuing a bill under which countries using the strait for shipping, energy transit and food supplies would be required to pay tolls and taxes to Iran, framing it as compensation for providing security along the route.
“In the event that the Strait of Hormuz is used as a secure route for ship traffic, energy transit and food supply, countries will be required to pay tolls and taxes to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Rafiei said.
She also said countries should pay what she described as a security tax in return for Iran maintaining regional security.
The proposal came as senior Iranian officials suggested the war could be used to redefine Tehran’s position in the waterway after the conflict ends.
Mohammad Mokhber said one of the most important opportunities created by the war was the possibility of reshaping Iran’s role in the Strait of Hormuz.
“After the imposed war, by defining a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will move from being under sanctions to a powerful position in the region and the world,” Mokhber said.
He added: “By using the strategic position of the Strait of Hormuz, we can sanction them and not allow their ships to pass through this waterway.”
The comments followed a sharp escalation earlier this week when Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field, one of the country’s most important energy sites, in an attack that pushed oil and gas prices higher.
Iran retaliated by targeting energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, including strikes on facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, widening concerns that the conflict could spread further across the region’s oil and gas network.
That escalation also triggered a stronger response from Arab states. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said pressure from Iran would “backfire politically and morally” and added that Riyadh reserved the right to take military action if needed.
Arab states have requested an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council over Iran’s strikes on civilians and energy infrastructure across the Middle East, according to documents seen by Reuters on Thursday.
A diplomatic note described missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a “situation of serious concern for international peace and security.”
The draft resolution calls on Iran to halt strikes on civilian infrastructure and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and seeks reparations for damage.
The request comes as the US-Israeli war with Iran enters its third week and Tehran has launched retaliatory attacks across the region, disrupting energy supplies and raising global economic concerns.
The council said it had received the request and was considering a date for the debate.
Iran warned on Thursday it would step up attacks on energy infrastructure after targeting sites in the Persian Gulf region, including in Qatar, following the strike on its South Pars gas facilities.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure were a “big mistake” and warned any repeat would lead to strikes on “your energy infrastructure and that of your allies until their complete destruction.”
“Iran’s response will be far stronger than the attacks carried out overnight,” the spokesperson said.
The United States could deploy a Marine unit to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, including by seizing Iranian-controlled islands, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing current and former officials.
The Pentagon has sent the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, where it is expected to arrive in just over a week, providing options to counter Iranian threats to shipping in the waterway, the report said.
The strait, which carries about a fifth of global oil flows, has been disrupted by attacks on commercial vessels since the start of the conflict.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that there is a need to find an exit from the war involving Iran and avoid further escalation.
“We need an exit from the Iran war, not an escalation,” Kallas told reporters ahead of a European Council summit in Brussels.
She added that ending the conflict was as important as finding a solution to the war in Ukraine.