Iran has announced plans to introduce a new traffic management mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically vital maritime chokepoints amid the ongoing US naval blocakade.
The announcement was made by the head of national security commission of the Iranian parliament Ebrahim Azizi, who said the mechanism had been prepared under the framework of national sovereignty and international trade security.
"Iran, within the framework of its national sovereignty and the guarantee of international trade security, has prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz along a designated route, which will be unveiled soon," he wrote.
The statement makes clear that access to the route will not be universal. "In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it," Azizi said, adding that "the necessary fees will be collected for the specialized services provided under this mechanism."
Most strikingly, he declared that "this route will remain closed to the operators of the so-called 'freedom project'" — a pointed reference widely understood to be aimed at US-led naval operations in the region, which Washington has framed as ensuring freedom of navigation.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, is the single most important oil transit chokepoint in the world. Approximately 20 percent of global petroleum liquids pass through it daily, making any threat to navigation there a matter of acute international concern.
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The announcement comes amid an already volatile regional environment, with the US-Israel military campaign against Iran having dramatically escalated tensions in recent months.
The mechanism is expected to be formally unveiled in the coming days.
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