Iran’s Fars news agency, which is affiliated to the nation’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), has said that 15 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz “with permission from Iran” in the previous 24-hour period.
It added that traffic was still 90% lower than before the start of the war.
Some Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, have repeatedly said that the vital shipping lane is not shut, but it is closed only to “enemy countries”.
For example, yesterday Iran announced Iraq is exempt from any restrictions it is imposing, according to the spokesman Iran’s for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarter.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials and lawmakers have also raised the possibility of tolling vessels using the strait.
Earlier an aide at Iran’s President’s Office, says the Strait of Hormuz “will be reopened” when “a portion of transit tolls is used to compensate for all the damage caused” by the war.
Iran’s senior presidential aide Medhi Tabatabai said on Sunday the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only under a “new legal regime” in which Iran would use revenue from transit fees as reparations for the damage inflicted by the US-Israeli war.
Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have all been involved in efforts to mediate. The three countries’ foreign ministers reportedly held phone calls with both Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.
