Iran’s ambassador to China insisted on Saturday (July 4, 2026) that new fees would be charged to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz — an idea rejected by Washington — while assuring that “friendly” nations would receive special treatment.

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The initial deal struck between Iran and the United States to end their war stipulated that commercial ships would transit the strait free of charge for 60 days, but it remains unclear what will be in place after that period.

Iranian Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told the World Peace Forum in Beijing that his country was working in “collaboration and cooperation” with Oman on “new arrangements” for the vital waterway.

“As a country where the Hormuz is part of its territorial waters, we will definitely charge service fees,” Azli said in translated remarks, while insisting such fees would not be a “toll.”

“These new arrangements will be concerning guaranteeing the security of passage through the Straits of Hormuz, supervision of the passage of the vessels… and also guaranteeing and dealing with the environmental consequences of the massive number of ships,” he said.

“We will definitely consider special treatment for the countries that were friendly to us and specially stood by us during the hard times,” he added.

The strait normally carries one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas, but it was all but closed by Iran during the West Asia war, sending energy prices soaring.

Iran lifted its blockade of the Hormuz after it struck an initial deal with the U.S. to end the West Asia war, and negotiations on a permanent settlement of the conflict are ongoing.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday (May 25, 2026) that Tehran was collecting fees for “navigational services” on ships transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, rather than imposing tolls.

“The services that are provided — navigational services in addition to the measures necessary to protect the environment of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman — require the collection of certain fees,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.

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He added that Iran was “not seeking to collect tolls”.

Iran’s Parliament is working on a bill to formalise the fees it is reportedly charging on some ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, local media reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that “Parliament is pursuing a plan to formally codify Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees”.

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“This is entirely natural; just as goods pay transit fees when passing through other corridors, the Strait of Hormuz is also a corridor,” he reportedly said.

“We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees.” The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, is considered an international waterway open to all shipping.

Imposing fees would end that and likely be strongly opposed by the Gulf Arab states, the United States and others.

An Emirati oil executive calls Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz “economic terrorism”. The comment by Sultan al-Jaber, who leads the massive state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., signalled the hardening rhetoric of the United Arab Emirates as the war nears its one-month mark.

“Weaponising the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation,” Sultan al-Jaber said in a speech for an event hosted by the Middle East Institute in Washington.

“It is economic terrorism against every consumer, every family that depends on affordable energy and food. When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy. No country can be allowed to destabilise the global economy in this way. Not now. Not ever.”