Iranian state media reported on Monday that a parliamentary commission in the country has approved a plan to impose taxes on ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. The AFP news agency reports.
The plan includes, among other things, what are called financial arrangements and a tax system in the Iranian currency, the rial, Iranian state television said, citing a member of the parliament's security commission.
The plan also includes "implementing Iran's sovereign role" and cooperation with Oman. The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran.
According to reports on Iranian state television, part of the plan also includes a ban on "Americans and the Zionist regime passing through". Other countries that impose sanctions on Iran will also be banned from sailing through the strait, it says.
It is not immediately clear how much the fine will be or when it might come into effect.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the rest of the world's oceans. About a fifth of all crude oil and liquefied natural gas in the world normally sails through the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping has largely ground to a halt due to the risk of attack during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This has caused oil and gas prices around the world to rise significantly.
Since the start of the war, the number of transits has fallen by around 95 percent, according to maritime analysis firm Kpler.
Last week, the American newspaper New York Times also described plans in the Iranian parliament to demand payment for passage through the important waterway.
On Friday, the media outlet wrote, based on reports from the Iranian news agencies Ras and Tasnim, that the parliament was considering a proposal that ships must pay a fee to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, according to the New York Times, fees have been collected from ships in some cases. However, this has happened in a system that the newspaper calls informal and selective.
According to the New York Times, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls Iran's plans for a tax in the Strait of Hormuz illegal.
Iran has previously claimed that the strait is open to those it describes as allies. Thailand and Pakistan are among the few countries that have made agreements with Iran to be able to sail safely through the Strait of Hormuz.
/ritzau/
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