Strait of Hormuz only closed to enemies from Iran's point of view

"From our point of view, the Strait of Hormuz is not closed, especially not to friendly countries. It is only closed to our enemies," said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers of the Brics group of states in New Delhi.

Surprisingly, Iran's chief diplomat also held out the prospect of restrictions being lifted by the Iranian navy. Araghchi cited an end to the war that the USA and Israel launched against Iran at the end of February as a prerequisite for this. "Then we will ensure that safe passage is guaranteed for every single ship," he said.

Iran's armed forces took control of the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for energy trade, shortly after the war began. Threats, inspections and attacks on ships brought traffic in the strait to a virtual standstill. The result was a significant rise in energy and fuel prices worldwide. According to Iran, the strait is now also mined.

Tehran always emphasizes that the Strait of Hormuz is not blocked. In reality, however, shipping companies have to coordinate with Iranian contact points and are then only allowed to pass through a corridor close to the Iranian coast.

The Iranian leadership charges high fees for this. According to international law experts, such fees violate the right to transit passage. For its part, the USA imposed a naval blockade against Iran in mid-April in order to cut off the country from oil revenues, among other things.