Trump doesn’t care, Iran is setting a ‘toll’ in Hormuz by violating the terms of the peace agreement! No exemption for India?

Iran will charge special ‘fees’ to ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, despite US President Donald Trump. China’s Iranian ambassador Abdulreza Rahmani Fazli announced this on Saturday. A few months ago, several reports claimed that Tehran was taking ‘tola’ from ships sailing in Hormuz. But this time the ‘fee’ will be charged at that new rate, the Iranian ambassador announced. But he assured that Iran’s ‘friendly’ countries would be given special privileges.

In the MoU signed between Iran and the US with the aim of establishing peace in the Middle East, it was said that for the next 60 days, all merchant ships will be able to move freely in Hormuz. Tehran will not collect any ‘fee’ from them. But it was only after Fazli’s announcement on Saturday that the speculation started. He did not clarify when Iran will collect this ‘fee’ from the ships. However, according to analysts, the whole matter may be involved in a conflict with America again. Because, from the beginning, Washington is strongly opposed to the installation of ‘toll’ in Hormuz. The US president had threatened Tehran several times before.

Speaking at an event in Beijing on Saturday, Iran’s ambassador said, “Tehran wants to develop a new system for this important waterway. For this, we are working with Oman through mutual cooperation and joint efforts. Since Hormuz is part of our national waters, we will definitely collect fees from the ships sailing there.” He further said, “The main objective of this new system will be to ensure the safety of all ships in Hormuz and to monitor the ships. Not only this, the large number of ships plying in this waterway also has an impact on the environment. We also aim to deal with that.”

However, Fazli clarified, special exemptions may be given to Iran’s ‘friendly’ states. He said, “We will consider countries that have been friendly towards us and stood by us especially in difficult times.“But he did not mention any countries in the list of ‘friends’. Meanwhile, Iran has a long-standing good relationship with India. Tehran has also acknowledged it several times. Will India be exempted in that case? That is to be seen now.