Iranian officials on Wednesday made it clear that the Strait of Hormuz will not be open to U.S.-linked vessels for the foreseeable future and will be accessible only to countries that adhere to the Islamic republic’s new rules for the waterway.
Ebrahim Azizi, chair of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Wednesday that the strait will eventually be reopened to the rest of the world “but not for [President] Trump.”
“Trump reached his dream of regime change, but in the maritime order of the region,” Mr. Azizi added.
His comments are perhaps the clearest articulation yet of Iran’s post-war strategy for the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has kept the strait, through which at least 20% of the world’s oil travels each year, closed for several weeks in response to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.
Iranian officials have asserted that the strait remains open, but not to vessels linked to Tehran’s enemies. That seems to include tankers carrying oil and liquid natural gas coming from Persian Gulf states, which Iran has attacked with drones and missiles.
Several ships linked to Pakistan and China have reportedly passed through the strait safely over the past month. Both nations are frequent importers of Iranian oil, with China alone buying up 90% of Iran’s exports.
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The comments come as Iran’s government looks to systematize control over the strait in an attempt to rake in billions in profit. Iran’s parliament is considering a law to establish an official fee system for the strait that would provide an additional revenue stream for the Islamic republic after the war.
Yahya Al-e Es’hagh, head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, said the fee system could generate $70 billion to $80 billion a year for Iran. He added that Iran could collect “at least” a 10% fee from each ship traveling through the strait.
