Trump says Iran will not charge ships to use Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Wednesday he had more leeway to significantly increase the allocation and supply of foreign currency after recent US waivers and improved access to foreign assets, Noor News, a website close to the Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) reported.

Hemmati said the central bank would start using part of the foreign currency reserves built up in recent months and that a visible change in currency supply for industry would begin on Saturday, according to the report.

He said $2 billion would be supplied in the first phase, adding that increased currency access for basic goods, raw materials and production needs could help reduce import-related price pressures.

Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a newly launched evacuation plan by the UN shipping agency, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization.

"Ships have already begun to pass under the plan," the spokesperson said, declining to identify the vessels.

Reuters reported that at least two dry bulk ships and one cargo vessel passed through the strait under the scheme in the past 12 hours, citing LSEG ship-tracking data.

At least 35 other commercial vessels, mainly dry bulk, cargo and container ships, were preparing to sail through the strait, Reuters reported, citing LSEG and MarineTraffic data.

The scheme, which took months to finalize, will allow hundreds of ships and about 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf to pass through Hormuz, the IMO said.

Access to Iran’s attacked nuclear sites and nuclear materials will only be examined and resolved within the framework of a final agreement with the United States, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday.

Gharibabadi said in a post on X that any decision on such access would depend on “practical action” by the other side to end all sanctions.

He also said no meeting had been held in Switzerland with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi despite Grossi’s request, and that no plan existed for access to the attacked facilities or nuclear materials.

Iran, Arab states and Iraq are preparing talks on the future operation of the Strait of Hormuz, including possible Iranian proposals for environmental, navigation and security fees, a diplomat briefed on the discussions told Reuters on Wednesday.

The talks are separate from US-Iran peace negotiations and arrangements to clear mines from the waterway, the diplomat said.

The diplomat said Arab states were expected to oppose fees for ships passing through the strait, while Iran was expected to propose charges linked to environmental protection, navigation and security.

Qatar’s prime minister was in Muscat on Wednesday to begin the process with Oman, the diplomat said. The talks would involve Iran, Arab states and Iraq and focus on reopening the strait and its future operation.

Separate regional reconciliation talks between Iran and Arab states are also being planned in Riyadh, the diplomat said.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday that IAEA inspectors would visit Iranian enrichment sites under a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington.

The United States and Iran have given contradictory accounts about whether the sites would be inspected, but Grossi said the inspections were “going to happen.”

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