Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will be managed under a new system that “will likely reflect a new balance of power and security considerations” in the region, with bordering states Iran and Oman playing a central role in controlling the critical waterway, Iranian state news agency IRNA claimed Wednesday.
As per IRNA, officials from Tehran and Muscat had previously discussed potential joint mechanisms to manage maritime traffic in the route, ensure safe passage, and introduce coordinated protocols for vessel movement once conditions in the war-troubled West Asia gain stability.
The Iranian state media further claimed that the proposals for this system of management were framed as efforts to improve security and organisation for shipping traffic in the strait, rather than to restrict navigation, which prior to the joint US-Israel strikes against the Islamic Republic on February 28, had been completely free and unfettered.
As per the report, Iran considers the Strait of Hormuz strategically linked to its national security, and as such, any long-term governance plans, or introduction of a new operational structure for the waterway should be determined via regional dialogue, particularly with neighbouring coastal states.
IRNA said recent developments had underscored the geopolitical importance of the strait, noting the severe global energy price hikes amid constraints on commercial traffic through the waterway during the war.
Washington, along with its allies in the Persian Gulf has accused Iran of piracy by launching unprovoked attacks on commercial vessels, and holding the entire strait to ransom.
