Oman will propose a post-war plan to impose fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz . Under this proposal, Iran and Oman would collect fees from ships transiting the strait.
Oman, an ally of both the United States and Iran, is moving forward with plans to charge fees to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, despite public U.S. objections, according to an Iranian official and four diplomats familiar with the matter.
The newspaper said that if these plans are implemented, they will represent a radical change from the pre-war situation in this strategic waterway, revealing how the US-Israeli decision to launch an attack on Iran on February 28 has changed the face of the Middle East in far-reaching and unexpected ways.
Oman, an ally of both the United States and Iran, is pressing ahead with plans to charge fees to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public objections from the United States.
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was an international waterway between Iran and Oman , through which ships freely transported oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. However, Iran imposed a de facto blockade on the strait, a vital chokepoint for global trade, causing energy prices to skyrocket. Since announcing its decision to close the strait, Iranian officials have made statements indicating their intention to exploit it for financial gain. Oman recently submitted a formal proposal to the United States and its other Western allies outlining a plan under which shipping companies would pay a service fee to use the strait, according to an Iranian official and a regional diplomat.
She said a source familiar with the US position indicated that American negotiators had received the Omani proposal and had concerns they intended to discuss with Omani officials. The same source, along with a regional diplomat, confirmed that the proposal included optional, not mandatory, fees. She added that the future of the Strait of Hormuz remains a central issue in the talks between the United States and Iran aimed at reaching a lasting peace agreement.
The regional diplomat said the Omani proposal is partly based on arrangements in place in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore , an Asian waterway where a private foundation collects voluntary donations to ensure safe navigation. The diplomat explained that any fees in the Strait of Hormuz would be optional. In contrast, the Iranian official asserted that payments would be mandatory.
In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television on Monday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Tehran's priority is reaching an agreement with Oman . However, if Oman is unwilling to establish a joint framework for managing the waterway, Iran will proceed unilaterally.
The newspaper adds that the sultanate, located in southeastern Arabia, has long cultivated a reputation as a neutral state and has played a mediating role between the United States and Iran. However, the sultanate now faces the difficult task of striking a delicate balance amid escalating regional tensions resulting from the war.
US President Donald Trump had threatened to bomb Oman after reports surfaced of negotiations between Iran and Oman to impose service fees in the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, Trump described the idea of charging fees or taxes for passage through the strait as “unacceptable.” However, it remains unclear whether the Trump administration would approve the imposition of a voluntary service fee.
The preliminary agreement signed by the United States and Iran last month, which halted the war, emphasized the importance of safe and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement stipulated that Iran and Oman would begin a dialogue regarding the future of the waterway after the 60-day period of negotiations outlined in the agreement.
A source familiar with the American position said that the American negotiating team values its partnership with Oman and is confident in its ability to resolve the differences over the Omani proposal at the technical level.
The sultanate, located in southeastern Arabia, has long sought to cultivate a reputation as a neutral state and has played the role of mediator between the United States and Iran.
The newspaper noted that Omani officials find themselves caught in the middle of regional tensions over the waterway, a situation they have long sought to avoid. “What happens in the Strait is a matter of immediate national security for them,” said Anna Jacobs, a nonresident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in New York. “They are viewing the conflict and regional security from a broader perspective and are focused on how to keep Iran at the negotiating table.”
Three European diplomats were quoted as saying that Omani officials initially presented their efforts as an attempt to find an alternative plan to facilitate maritime trade in the event that the conflict continued.
They noted that European countries, despite their reservations about the idea of tariffs, are now focused on ensuring that they are implemented in a way that does not violate international law. Voluntary tariffs could meet this requirement.
H.E. Hellyer, a research associate at the Royal United Services Institute in London, commented: “Call it voluntary if you like, the Strait of Hormuz was completely open before this war, and now it is not. This is not Oman’s doing; they never wanted it. All this trouble is part of the price of a war that Washington started in an ill-considered way.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Bahrain last week that the United States would oppose any scenario involving fees for using the Strait of Hormuz, whether those fees were “charges, taxes, or donations.” He said, “We need to get back to the situation the Strait was in before this conflict.”
Analysts believe that Iran's newfound ability to disrupt shipping through the waterway has become a crucial bargaining chip that it cannot afford to relinquish. This sentiment was echoed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on state television last month, who declared that the Strait of Hormuz would never return to its pre-war status, when passage was free. Mehdi Mohammadi, a senior advisor to General Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator with the United States, was quoted on social media as saying that the terminology is irrelevant to Iran, "whether you call it transit fees, security service fees, or maritime passage fees," adding, "There is no such thing as a free service anywhere in the world."
Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reached an agreement last week on a safe passage that runs only through Omani territorial waters. Iran responded by attacking a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, the IMO, a UN agency, suspended its efforts to evacuate hundreds of ships stranded in the waterway.
While Iran has been open about new arrangements in the Strait, Oman has remained silent on its plans. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi rejected the idea of imposing fees simply for crossing the Strait, deeming it illegal. However, he distinguished between “transit fees” and service charges levied by countries along the Strait.
In an interview on Sunday with Monte Carlo International Radio, Al-Busaidi said that maintaining the safety and pollution-free waters of the Strait of Malacca, while responding to periodic maritime emergencies, “undoubtedly requires funding.” He added, “All we are saying is that perhaps we can benefit from some existing experiences, on a voluntary basis, among the countries concerned.” He cited the precedent of the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, where a private Japanese foundation manages voluntary contributions from governments, companies, and industry associations to facilitate safe navigation through the strait.
The Omani proposal is likely to spark controversy among other Gulf Arab states, which rely on the Strait of Hormuz to export oil and gas.
Tags:
asiawest
