Iran announced increased service fees and special privileges to friendly countries in the Strait of Hormuz, putting global oil trade, energy prices and US-Iran tensions back in the spotlight.
Beijing/Tehran: A sensational news has come regarding the Strait of Hormuz, which is considered to be the most sensitive vein of the global economy, which has created a stir in the markets and diplomatic corridors of the entire world. While the world was heaving a sigh of relief after the end of the recent horrific war, now Iran has played its new bet on this strategic waterway. Iran’s ambassador to China made an announcement at the ‘World Peace Forum’ held in Beijing on Saturday, which has created a stir from Washington to European countries. Iran is now planning a concrete plan to collect a new ‘service fee’ from every commercial ship passing through this waterway. This decision has once again created an atmosphere of great suspense and uncertainty on the sea waves.
60 days’ moratorium and Washington’s bitterness: Will war break out again?
The mystery and geopolitical tensions deepened when it was revealed that under the recent initial agreement between Iran and the US, commercial ships were allowed to pass duty-free for only 60 days. But the question is, what will happen after this temporary period of 60 days is over? Iran’s Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli made it clear to Beijing, “As a country whose territorial waters include Hormuz, we will definitely charge a service fee.” On the other hand, Washington has completely rejected Iran’s idea of charging this ‘service fee’ or tax. This harshness of America is clearly indicating that this period of peace in the Gulf countries can also be the silence before a big storm.
Not ‘toll’, ‘security deal’: The inside truth of Iran’s new move
Iran is preparing a very clever legal and diplomatic shield to justify this recovery under international rules. Ambassador Fazli stressed that these fees should not be viewed as a simple “toll tax.” Instead, Iran is calling it “Security and Management Services”. According to Iran’s proposed plan, in exchange for this fee, ships will be provided with guarantees of safe passage through waterways, modern monitoring of heavy maritime traffic and services to deal with the environmental damage caused by large ships. The most shocking thing is that Iran is working rapidly on a secret new arrangement with Oman to manage this entire traffic and fee system, due to which the tension of the western countries has doubled.
‘Special’ facility for friends: Who will be rich in the game of diplomacy?
The most interesting and mysterious turn of this entire incident came when the Iranian Ambassador put forward a new equation of friendship and enmity in front of the world. “We will definitely consider ‘special’ concessions and facilities for those countries that were our friends and stood firmly with us in difficult times (during the war),” he promised at the open forum. This statement of Iran is being considered as a direct gesture towards China and its allied countries. Diplomatic experts believe that through this ‘special’ facility, Iran can provide huge economic benefits to its friendly countries in global trade, while making this route an expensive and complex nightmare for the ships of opposing countries.
The heartbeat of the world is at stake: will crude oil touch the sky again?
The Strait of Hormuz is no ordinary waterway; It is the lifeline of the global economy, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil ($20\%$) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. When Iran closed this route during the recent conflict, there was an outcry across the world and energy prices reached record levels. Although this path has been opened after the initial agreement with the US to stop the fighting and talks are still going on between the two sides for a permanent solution, but this new ‘service fee’ gambit of Iran and the strategy of giving special concessions to friendly countries can once again put the global energy market on a heap of gunpowder. Traders around the world are now keeping an eye on what retaliatory action the US takes after the 60-day deadline is over.