‘Strait of Hormuz is divine gift’: Iran invokes God to claim right to charge fee

Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has claimed a divine right from God to control the Strait of Hormuz and charge a toll or fees for transit.

Ahead of US-Iran talks in Doha, Ghalibaf told IRNA news agency that the "Strait of Hormuz was a divine gift that God gave us in this war, which is our greatest instrument of power". He also clarified that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding never promised free transit in perpetuity.

Indeed, Clause 5 of the US-Iran MoU only mandates free transit through the Strait for 60 days. Beyond that period, the MoU says, Iran should enter into consultations with Oman to "define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz".

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In an apparent reference to fee to transit the Strait, Ghalibaf said that Iran "will take action [after the 60-day period] to determine the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law and the sovereign rights of the coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz. This means the sovereignty of the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran and Oman".

This is the latest and clearest iteration of Iran's intention to control and monetise the Strait — a sharp deviation from before the war when the Strait was essentially treaty as international waters and transit was free even as a part of the Strait ran through Iran's territorial waters.

The repeated assertions —and conditions for transit that Iran has already set— to control the Strait undermine US President Donald Trump's consistent claim that the Strait shall be free for transit.

'It's impossible to back down': Ghalibaf on Strait of Hormuz's control

Ghalibaf said that the sovereign control of the Strait and the right to charge a toll remains non-negotiable for Iran.

"It is impossible that under any circumstances we would back down on this issue; meaning these are our territorial waters, and we will not allow the United States to create a ruckus or sophistry claiming that Iran has militarised the Strait of Hormuz," said Ghalibaf, who is also the Iranian parliamentary speaker.

Ghalibaf further said that Iran's "management and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is absolute and certain".

Last week, Iran declared that ships cannot transit unconditionally through the Strait. It said that ships could transit through the designated routes and any ship outside of the route would lose the right to safe passage.

In light with the declaration, Iran last week attacked a ship that was travelling outside of the designated route that ran through Iran's territorial waters and was instead transiting through a southern route along the Omani coast.