Dubai: Iran has exempted commercial ships from four countries, including India and China, from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, a top Iranian official has said, amid continued attacks on vessels attempting to cross the strategic waterway.
Amir Hayat Moghadam, Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the announcement in an interview with the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) Tuesday.
We have currently exempted four countries – India, China, Iraq and Qatar – from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Ships from these countries pass freely, and the Americans do not intercept them either, he was quoted as saying by the semi-official news agency.
Moqaddam said the exemptions were based on specific considerations and mutual interests.
He said that facilitating the passage of Indian ships was intended to allow imports of medicines from India, while the exemption for Chinese vessels was intended to secure Beijing’s political support.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, handles roughly 20 per cent of global energy supplies in normal times.
Shipping through the waterway has been severely disrupted since February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes.
Iran moved to shut the waterway soon after the US-Israeli bombing began, and Washington responded weeks later with a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran, which has imposed strict restrictions on traffic, allows only a few vessels to pass through the waterway while others undergo screening and, in some cases, pay transit fees.
At least 15 Indian seafarers have been killed in attacks on ships in the region since the conflict began in February.
In the latest incident, an Indian sailor was killed in an attack on the commercial vessel MSV Al Jusufi near Limah in Oman on Monday evening.
India, which has been consistently calling for finding a solution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, has termed the continuing incidents of attacks on commercial shipping in the region as deeply concerning.
India has said that the targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways, in keeping with international law, must be restored at the earliest.
