Administration of the strait of Hormuz will never return to how it was prior to the US-Iran war and will instead be managed by Tehran, according to the country's parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
"Everyone needs to know that management of the strait will never return to the way it was before the war," Ghalibaf said.
The strait has emerged as a key point of contention since the early days of the war, with Iran insisting that it and Oman, as the two countries bordering the waterway, should play a role in controlling how it is used and which vessels are allowed to pass through it.
Tehran in May set up a maritime authority, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), in an effort to consolidate its control. The PGSA would manage transit through the strait and has said it has engaged with hundreds of vessels seeking permits to pass safely, in some cases for a toll or fee.
The US-Iran interim deal, signed last week, called for Tehran to ensure movement of vessels from the Mideast Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and vice versa, with the aim of returning traffic to pre-war levels within 30 days — by around 18 July — while allowing Iran to "remove technical and military obstacles and removal of mines."
Latest data from Kpler show an uptick in seaborne Iranian crude and oil product exports as of the week starting 15 June, coinciding with the US lifting the blockade it imposed on Iranian ports in April.
Iran has agreed not to charge tolls for passage through the strait, at least for the initial 60 days. But it appears intent on keeping the PGSA in control of all traffic.
"Of course, we will fully comply with international law," Ghalibaf said. "But people need to understand [that administration of the strait will remain with Iran]."
He said the US and Iran have agreed to "establish co-ordination mechanisms there including a hotline and a centre that can be contacted whenever there is any ambiguity or dispute."
"Because the administration/management of the strait is with us, we will manage it easily," said Ghalibaf. "If there is any issue, we will solve it."
A tale of two shores
But Iran will have to act in co-ordination with Oman, which controls the strait's southern shore, and the two have held a meeting that could help institutionalise a new administrative regime.
They agreed to form "a joint working group" to "reach agreement on the future administration of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and the services that will be provided in this regard and the costs associated with them in accordance with international standards," the Omani foreign ministry said on 23 June.
Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said the sides "affirmed commitment to international law and toll-free safe passage."
Any toll for passage would be incompatible with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), notably Articles 38 and 42 that provide "all ships and aircraft enjoy the right of transit passage" that "shall not be impeded". Measures adopted by states bordering a strait must not have "the practical effect of denying, hampering or impairing the right of transit passage," Unclos states.
But Article 42 also says states bordering straits may adopt laws and regulations relating to transit passage in respect of the safety of navigation, the regulation of maritime traffic, and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution.
"The services that will be provided… and the costs associated with them in accordance with international standards," as mentioned by the Omani foreign ministry, will require clarification.
