New law will set conditions for transit through Strait of Hormuz: Deputy speaker 

The Iranian Parliament will approve a new law introducing a new legal regime for the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with directives of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, setting the conditions for transit of ships through the strategic waterway, a senior lawmaker said. 

Speaking on the sidelines of a supervisory visit by the Parliament's Civil Commission to Hormuzgan Province on Sunday, Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad said Iran would never retreat from its inherent rights in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for international oil and gas supplies. 

“This law does not only address the conditions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but also takes into account the rules of international law and the rights of the neighboring countries,” he said.

According to the draft law, he added, ships belonging to the Israeli regime would not be allowed under any circumstances to pass through the Strait. He emphasized that no permission would also be granted to hostile countries, the United States in particular, to pass through the waterway.

“Other ships must comply with the law to be approved by Parliament to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” Nikzad explained.

Under the new legislation, he noted, authorizations will be obtained from the Leader and passed on to to the Armed Forces.

The top parliamentarian further said that tolls will be charged for services such as safety, maritime guidance, and environmental protection in the Strait of Hormuz and the revenues would be allocated to the improvement of Iran’s defensive power, public livelihoods, and reconstruction and completion of the country’s infrastructure.

He added that a “desperate” President of the United States Donald Trump has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and vessels, which is absolutely “doomed to fail.”

He emphasized that the status of the Strait of Hormuz will not return to the conditions before the unprovoked war waged by the United States and the Israeli regime, which started on February 28.

Nikzad reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf waters in Hormuzgan Province belong to the Islamic Republic.

In response to the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, the Iranian Armed Forces launched daily missile and drone operations targeting locations in the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US military bases and assets across the region.

Furthermore, Iran retaliated against the strikes by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a significant increase in oil prices and its by-products.

On April 8, forty days into the war, a Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US took effect. Negotiations ensued in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad but stopped short of an agreement amid Washington’s maximalist demands and insistence on unreasonable positions.

Since then, Trump has offered shifting timelines and goals for the war. He has faced widespread condemnation over his comments on the aggression, including when he threatened to destroy Iran’s “entire civilization.”

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