Hours after a framework agreement aimed at ending the US-Iran conflict was announced, Iran on Monday clarified that vessels passing through the strategic
Strait of Hormuz would not be subjected to transit tolls. Instead, the ships will be required to pay service fees for navigation-related facilities, environmental protection and maritime support. "We have always maintained that we do not seek to collect transit tolls. However, fees for navigation services, environmental protection, ship insurance and other necessary maritime services will be charged," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said during a press briefing. The statement came as Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to end nearly four months of war, paving the way for detailed negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme and sanctions relief. The framework also includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic energy corridors, which had been effectively closed for commercial shipping since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28. It is also important to note that Iran's message on its Hormuz transit policy came just minutes after US President Donald Trump informed that ships have started to move out of the passage, with many of them loaded up with oil. Trump, in his Truth Social post, said that they are going along the Southern ‘Highway,' which is totally safe, secure, and pristine. He added that there are other areas of travel as well. "Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz. They are going along the Southern 'Highway,' which is totally safe, secure, and pristine. There are other areas of travel also," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The deal, which is expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday (June 19), seeks to halt military operations in the Middle East across multiple fronts.
Iran Says 'No Trust In America'
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baqaei, during the press briefing, said that Iran still holds “deep mistrust" of the United States despite an agreed framework to end the war."We have no trust in the Zionist regime whatsoever, just as we have no trust in America either. It is a proven fact that America and the Zionist regime have never been honest in fulfilling their commitments," he said.
