Tehran: Iran has exempted merchant vessels from India, China, Iraq and Qatar from restrictions on using the Strait of Hormuz, and the measure is aimed at facilitating the procurement of medicines from India, an influential Iranian lawmaker has said.
Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said ships from these four countries can “pass freely” through the strategic waterway and the US too is not stopping them either.
We have currently exempted India, China, Iraq and Qatar from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Ships from these countries pass freely, and the Americans do not intercept them either,” Hayat-Moghaddam said in an interview with the Iranian Students’ News Agency .
The exemptions are aimed at shoring up Iran’s interests related to these countries, he indicated. Iran is facilitating the passage of Indian ships to enable the import of medicines from India, while the exemption for Chinese shipping is aimed at securing China’s political support, he said, speaking in Farsi.
Hayat-Moghaddam said Iran collects transit fees from Indian and Chinese vessels, and allows Qatari vessels to pass without charges. He didn’t specify whether Iraqi vessels have to pay transit fees.
India imports almost 90% of its crude oil needs and about 30% of these imports currently pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In the past, the strait accounted for 70% of India’s crude imports, but the dependence has declined because New Delhi has begun diversifying imports with purchases from Russia, the US, West Africa, and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the start of the West Asia conflict.
However, 90% of India’s LPG imports transit the Strait of Hormuz, and more than 50% of its LNG imports from Qatar and the UAE is transported through the waterway. The strait is also crucial for the country’s fertiliser imports.