Iran is formulating a protocol with Oman to oversee maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior official has said.
“We are drafting a protocol for Iran and Oman to supervise transit in the Strait of Hormuz,” Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said on Thursday in statements carried by the state news agency IRNA.
He said ship movements are conducted and coordinated during peacetime by Iran and Oman, two coastal nations.
“These requirements do not mean restrictions, but rather aim to facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships,” he added.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for oil and gas shipments, has sharply declined in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran, prompting countries to consider alternative maritime and land routes.
About 20 million barrels of oil pass through the strait daily, and its closure has caused to raise oil prices and shipping and insurance costs, triggering global economic concerns.
Gharibabadi insisted that the Strait of Hormuz “is open and transit is proceeding smoothly.”
“When we face aggression, movement encounters serious disruptions,” he said. “We are now in a state of war, and wartime conditions cannot be governed by peacetime rules.”
