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Iran threatens Gulf ports as US blockade looms
Iran threatens Gulf ports as US blockade looms
Dubai, 13 April (Argus) — Iran has warned it could target ports across the Mideast Gulf if its own facilities are attacked, describing US plans to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports as "piracy". "If the security of Iran's ports… is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe," Iran's armed forces said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB. Tehran said US restrictions on vessel movements in international waters are "illegal". Iran also said it would "firmly implement a permanent mechanism to control the strait of Hormuz", under which vessels linked to its enemies would be denied passage. Other ships would be allowed to transit subject to conditions set by Iran's armed forces. The warning comes after Washington said it would begin a blockade of Iranian ports from 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT) today. The move was announced after talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad over the weekend ended without agreement and failed to reopen the strait. Oil prices have risen sharply following the US' blockade announcement. The front-month June Ice Brent contract was $102.41/bl at around 10:45 GMT today, up by about 8pc on the previous close. US Central Command said the blockade would target vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports, while allowing navigation to and from non-Iranian ports through Hormuz. US president Donald Trump also warned that ships complying with Iranian transit conditions, including the payment of tolls, could be stopped in international waters. The negotiations in Islamabad ended after more than 20 hours, with both sides blaming each other for the breakdown. A ceasefire announced earlier this month remains in place but is fragile. No major attacks have been reported on Mideast Gulf energy infrastructure or Iranian targets since the talks, although clashes continue in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Shipping through the strait of Hormuz remains constrained. French president Emmanuel Macron today called for a "swift, durable diplomatic settlement" and urged the restoration of "free and unimpeded navigation" through Hormuz. France and the UK plan to convene partners in the coming days to establish a multinational maritime mission to safeguard transit. The standoff underscores a widening gap, with Washington seeking to enforce freedom of navigation, while Tehran moves towards a system of conditional access of the strait under its control. Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Trump showing signs of frustration over Hormuz stasis
Trump showing signs of frustration over Hormuz stasis
London, 10 April (Argus) — US president Donald Trump is beginning to show signs of frustration over a lack of tangible progress with respect to reopening the strait of Hormuz ꟷ a key condition of the ceasefire that the US agreed with Iran earlier this week. The agreement announced on 7 April ostensibly called for an end to strikes by the US and Israel on Iran for two weeks, in return for Iran agreeing to provide safe passage for commercial vessels through the key waterway through co-ordination with the Iranian armed forces. But less than three days in, not only have transits through the strait not increased, they have actually fallen from the already low levels of the past few weeks. Less than eight vessels transited the strait on average in the two days since the ceasefire was agreed, according to Kpler data, down from more than 12 in the first week of April. This compares with more than 100 per day before the start of the war. "Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonourable some would say, of allowing oil to go through the strait of Hormuz. That is not the agreement we have!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform overnight. The slowdown has come, at least in part, due to infractions that Iran said its counterparts have made since the ceasefire was agreed. Tehran, specifically, objected to a massive bombing campaign that Israel carried out across Lebanon on 8 April, as it considered Lebanon to be part of the ceasefire agreement. Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said as much in his announcement of the ceasefire. But Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since insisted that the agreement did not include a ceasefire in Lebanon. The US has said the same. Iran's Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cited an informed source shortly after Israel's bombing campaign on 8 April that the strait would "remain closed" until a full ceasefire was established in Lebanon. Kpler data showed just five vessels transited the strait on 8 April, down from 13 the day before. Iran also appeared to carry out strikes against several of its Arab Gulf neighbours in retaliation for the Israeli campaign, and strikes on oil infrastructure on the two islands of Lavan and Sirri, with both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reporting significant damage to key energy installations, after the ceasefire agreement. In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump hit out at "reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz strait". Iran had "better not be, and if they are, they better stop now!" he said. Trump was referring to a system that Iran has been employing in recent weeks whereby vessels have paid Tehran a fee to transit the waterway safely ꟷ a system first revealed by Iranian parliament member Alaeddin Boroujerdi in mid-March . Hamid Hosseini, the spokesman for Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical products exporters' union, told Argus this week that the system continues, with the fee charged directly linked to the volume of oil on board. "Shipowners are being asked to pay $1 per barrel, and that can be done in the local currency, rials, or cryptocurrency, but only after the vessel has received a permit from the IRGC," Hosseini said. Iranian lawmakers are also preparing to bring a bill formalising Iran's role as the guardian and guarantor of the waterway to the parliament for a vote. But others are pushing back against the idea of Iran taking control of the strait, or setting up a toll there. "Open the strait unconditionally," said Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of Abu Dhabi's state-owned Adnoc on 8 April. "Iran has made clear… that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage. That is not freedom of navigation. That is coercion." The European Commission, also on 8 April, said under international law, freedom of navigation must be insured, meaning "no payment or toll whatsoever". By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Iran eyes regional solution for Hormuz crisis
Iran eyes regional solution for Hormuz crisis
Dubai, 9 April (Argus) — Iran is proposing a regional solution to the strait of Hormuz crisis that would involve at least some of the countries bordering the Mideast Gulf, according to a bill currently under discussion in parliament. Part of that would involve charging a fee for vessels passing through the key waterway, with revenues from this available to all participating countries as 'war reparations'. " Dubbed the 'law of strategic action for peace and development of the Persian Gulf,' the Iranian bill would govern Tehran's oversight and management of traffic through Hormuz, which has been severely disrupted since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on 28 February. Tehran's subsequent threats to any and all vessels it deemed to be 'unfriendly' led to traffic through the strait dropping to around seven a day in March, compared with typical daily movement of more than 100 before the war according to Kpler data. Diplomatic engagement with several of what Tehran dubs 'friendly' countries has seen a slight pick-up in traffic through the strait, with more than 11 vessels crossing on average in the first eight days of April. Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Iraq have all secured deals for passage with Tehran, and Islamabad last week said it had secured the safe passage of 20 Pakistani-flagged ships. This pick-up came as Iran began introducing something of a toll system, whereby vessels would pay Tehran a fee to transit the waterway safely — a process first revealed by Iranian parliament member Alaeddin Boroujerdi in mid-March . Speaking to Argus , Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical products exporters' union, confirmed the toll mechanism remains in place. "Every very large crude carrier (VLCC) transiting the strait has been paying $2mn, in line with what has been under discussion in parliament," Hosseini said. The fee being charged is directly linked to the volume of oil on board, Hosseini said. "Ship owners are being asked to pay $1 per barrel, and that can be done in the local currency, rials, or cryptocurrency, but only after the vessel has received a permit from the IRGC," he said. Tidings for all This mechanism appears to form the basis of how Iran sees the future of the strait of Hormuz, and its role as the guardian and guarantor of the key waterway. "The Iranian government, in co-operation with the Iranian armed forces, is obliged to provide services, like navigation guidance and vessel inspection, as well as compliance and financial assessments," the bill says, specifying that vessels related to "warring countries" will, for the most part, be barred. "The armed forces will determine which vessels are considered belligerent, and which are not," the bill says, stating that final say will come from the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), one of Iran's most powerful decision-making bodies. Chaired by the president, the SNSC is responsible for national security, defense and major foreign policy strategy, and has been deeply involved in formulating Iran's war effort. The bill reiterates vessels will need to pay a fee to transit Hormuz, either in rials or cryptocurrency, it says proceeds will not go to Iranian state coffers, but to what it calls a 'Persian Gulf Reconstruction and Development Fund' that regional countries can apply to join. "The resources in this fund will be considered war reparations for Iran and other member countries, and be used for the reconstruction and development needs of the member countries," the bill says. Gulf countries are yet to show appetite for this plan. Oman's transport, communications and information technology minister Said Al-Maawali on 8 April said the country is party to all international maritime conventions, which do not allow for the imposition of charges on passage. The Iranian bill has secured approval from parliament's national security council, but has not yet been brought to the parliament floor for a vote, Hosseini said. By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EIA raises US NGL production, demand forecasts
EIA raises US NGL production, demand forecasts
Houston, 8 April (Argus) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its 10-year outlook for average production of natural gas plant liquids (NGLs) by 14.4pc. In its Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), the EIA estimated production of NGLs would average 8.85mn b/d from 2026 to 2035, up from the estimate of 7.74mn b/d for that period in its report last year . By 2050, production will reach 11.3mn b/d, EIA said, a 32.3pc hike from the agency's previous 2050 forecast. Consumption of hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs), which the EIA defines as ethane, propane, normal butane, isobutane, natural gasoline, and refinery olefins, is projected to average 3.82mn b/d over the next 10 years, up from the 3.69mn b/d forecast in the 2025 AEO. The agency continues to expect much of this demand to come from the industrial sector, including petrochemical manufacturing. EIA forecast 3,710 trillion Btu/y of industrial-sector HGL consumption between 2026-2035, up from its 3,630 trillion Btu/y forecast for the period last year. EIA also raised its estimate for domestic propane use in the residential, commercial, and transportation sectors across the period to 727 trillion Btu/y, up from 697 trillion Btu/y as estimated in 2025. The increase was almost entirely attributable to the residential sector, which the agency predicts will consume 485 trillion Btu/y, up from its previous 456 trillion Btu/y forecast for the period. By Joseph Barbour Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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