Iran Can Charge for Hormuz Passage During Ceasefire, AP Reports

AP reports Iran and Oman will be allowed to charge for Hormuz passage in the ceasefire, citing a regional official; it says Iran would use the fees for reconstruction.

Worth noting the free passage of vessels through choke points like Hormuz is protected under principles in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. While the US never ratified the treaty, it played a role in the document’s drafting and its navy has served as chief enforcer of the rules.

Those include prohibition against regulating vessels that move between open waters, even if the route cuts through their territorial seas. Iran’s attempts to deny passage or charge fees in the Hormuz strait — as much as $2 million per transit, it was reported previously — challenge that system. Tehran has also advanced a law governing its control of the strait and fees for passage, a move that formalizes an idiosyncratic payment system in place for weeks, according to shipowners.