Kayhan editor questions Hormuz Strait reopening, compensation plans
Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of Iran's hardline Kayhan newspaper, questioned why senior officials had agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, arguing Tehran was relinquishing one of its strongest levers against its adversaries without securing meaningful compensation.
Writing in Kayhan, Shariatmadari asked Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi why they would abandon a "decisive" tool that had brought enemies close to economic suffocation.
He dismissed proposals to charge passing vessels service fees, arguing they paled in comparison to the loss of senior military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, as well as the extensive damage inflicted on Iran.
"Are we now supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and settle for collecting service fees from passing ships?" he wrote, warning that doing so would ease pressure on Iran's adversaries and pave the way for future attacks.
