The Iranian parliament approves the bill to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, payable in Iranian currency.

Caixin News Network March 31 report (Editor: Niu Zhanlin). According to a report by CCTV News, on Monday local time (March 30), Iran’s Parliamentary National Security Committee approved a bill that would impose oversight and fees on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

It is understood that the plan covers multiple key areas, aiming to strengthen Iran’s control and regulation of the Strait of Hormuz. This includes setting up security arrangements to ensure navigational safety through the route, implementing measures to ensure safety of maritime navigation, and drafting relevant financial regulatory rules (tolls must be paid in Iranian rials). In addition, the方案 also proposes banning vessels belonging to the United States and Israel from passing through the strait.

This controversial bill could fundamentally change how one of the world’s most critical oil transportation chokepoints operates, and significantly increase the risk of international confrontation and economic shocks.

The proposal clearly calls for banning U.S. and Israeli vessels from transiting, which could further exacerbate already tense relations.

Iranian officials also emphasized that its armed forces would play a larger role in carrying out the plan, and that it may cooperate with Oman to build a new legal governance framework for the strait.

If implemented, the transit fees would provide Iran with a new source of fiscal revenue amid international sanctions pressure. However, to roll out such a charging mechanism within the international shipping system, it is expected to face widespread resistance.

The Strait of Hormuz has already become a central focus of ongoing conflict. The conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel jointly carried out an action against Iran, and the war has now entered its fifth week.

The strait’s legal status is complex. At its narrowest point, the width is less than 30 miles. It lies within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, but under international law, the waterway is considered an international strait, and ships generally enjoy freedom of passage.

Under practical blockade conditions, vessel traffic through the strait remains at a historic low. Estimates suggest that nearly 3,000 ships are waiting nearby to transit. Normally, about 120 vessels pass through the strait each day.

Last Sunday, Iran’s First Vice President Aref said Iran plans to completely reform the governance system of the Strait of Hormuz in order to gain long-term economic and security advantages. “The order of the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be like in the past. The Iranian government aims to turn battlefield outcomes into sustainable national economic and security gains.”

He said that Iran’s adversaries tried to bring about political change within Iran, but ultimately only led to a “change of control over Hormuz.”

Earlier on Monday, U.S. President Trump said the United States is in contact with a “more rational regime” in an effort to end the war with Iran; but he also warned Iran again that it must open the Strait of Hormuz, otherwise the U.S. would strike Iran’s oilfields and power generation facilities.

Trump wrote on social media: “We have made major progress. But if, for any reason, an agreement is not reached in the short term, and the Strait of Hormuz does not immediately ‘restore commercial passage,’ we will end our ‘pleasant stay’ in Iran by destroying and completely eliminating all of its power plants, oil wells, and Halk Island.”

In response, Aref warned U.S. President Trump not to dispatch troops to attack Iran’s Halk Island. Aref said Trump can decide whether to send troops to Halk Island, but whether troops can be withdrawn from there will not be controlled by the U.S., because “no one can come back alive from hell.”

Halk Island is located in the northwest of the Persian Gulf, about 25 kilometers from Iran’s coast. It is about 6 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. It is Iran’s largest crude oil export base, and 90% of Iran’s crude oil is exported from there.

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Responsible editor: Guo Jian