The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, has attracted global attention since Israel and the US launched war against Iran in February.
Until the fighting began, the narrow channel, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply is shipped from Gulf producers in peacetime, had remained toll-free and safe for ships. This strait is shared by Iran and Oman and does not fall under the category of international waters.
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After the US and Israel launched attacks, Iran retaliated by attacking “enemy” merchant ships in the strait, effectively blocking passage for all, stranding shipping, and causing one of the worst global energy distribution crises ever.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges, Tehran continued to refuse to reopen the strait to all traffic earlier this week. Trump backtracked on his threat on Tuesday night when a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan was announced.
This was followed by a 10-point peace proposal from Iran, which Trump described as a “viable” basis on which to negotiate a permanent end to hostilities.
As part of the ceasefire, Tehran has now released official terms it says will guide its control of the strait going forward. The US has not directly accepted the terms ahead of talks starting in Islamabad on Friday. However, analysts say Tehran’s continued control would be unpopular in Washington as well as other countries.
During the crisis, only certain ships from specific countries deemed friendly to Iran and that pay tolls have been granted safe passage. At least two tolls for the vessels are believed to have been paid in Chinese yuan, in what appears to be a strategy to weaken the US dollar but also to avoid US sanctions. China, which buys 80 percent of Iran’s oil, already pays Tehran in yuan.
Here’s what we know about how shipments will work from now on:
Who is controlling this strait now?
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would provide safe passage through the strait during the ceasefire “in coordination with Iran’s armed forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a map of the strait, showing a safe passage for ships to navigate. The map appears to direct ships north towards the Iranian coast and away from the traditional route near the coast of Oman.
In a statement, the IRGC said all vessels should use the new map for navigation due to “the possibility of the presence of various types of anti-ship mines in the main traffic area.”
It is unclear whether Iran is collecting toll fees during the ceasefire period.
However, Trump said on Tuesday that the US would “help build traffic” in the strait and that US troops would “keep moving around” as talks progress.
He posted on his Truth social media site on Thursday that the strait would be “open and secure”, said US troops would not leave the area, and threatened to resume attacks if talks did not go well.
It is not known to what extent American troops are now directing what is happening in the strait.
C Uday Bhaskar, a Delhi-based maritime analyst, told Al Jazeera that there is a lot of “uncertainty” about who can pass through the strait, and only three to five ships have passed through since the fighting stopped.
How does Iran’s 10-point plan affect the strait?
Among the main demands listed in Tehran’s 10-point plan are that the US and Israel permanently cease all attacks on Iran and its allies – especially Lebanon, lift all sanctions, and allow Iran to retain control of Hormuz. The plan has not been published in full but is understood to be a starting point for negotiations.
Iranian media say Iran is considering a plan to charge up to $2 million per ship to be shared with Oman on the opposite side of the strait. Other reports suggest Iran may impose a tariff of $1 per barrel of oil shipped.
Tehran said the revenues raised would be used to rebuild military and civilian infrastructure damaged by US-Israeli attacks.
Oman has rejected this idea. Transport Minister Saeed al-Mawli said on Wednesday that Omanis had previously “signed all international maritime transport agreements” that prohibit charging fees.
What does international law say about tolls on shipping?
Critics of Iran’s plan to charge tolls say it violates international law guiding safe sea passage, and should not be part of a final ceasefire agreement.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states that duties cannot be imposed on ships sailing through international straits or territorial waters.
The law allows coastal states to collect fees for services provided such as navigation aids or port use, but not for the passage itself.
However, neither the US nor Iran have ratified that particular convention.
Even if they had, there might have been ways to get around this law. Analyst Bhaskar told Al Jazeera that if Iran instead charged a fee to destroy the strait and make it safe for passage again, this could be acceptable under maritime laws.
There is no precedent in recent history for countries officially imposing taxes on passage through international straits or waterways.
In October 2024, a UN Security Council report alleged that the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen were collecting “illegal fees” from shipping companies to allow ships to pass through the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, where they were targeting ships linked to Israel during the Gaza War.
Last week, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei suggested the Houthis could close the Bab al-Mandeb shipping route again in the wake of the war on Iran.
How can countries react to the Hormuz toll?
The toll imposed on transit through the Strait of Hormuz is likely to hit oil and gas producing countries in the Gulf the hardest, but the impact will spread to other countries as well, as the current supply shock has shown.
Analysts say Gulf countries, which issued statements calling for the reopening of the route and praised the ceasefire on Wednesday, also face continued uncertainty as Iran could disrupt the flow again in the future.
Before the ceasefire was announced, Bahrain had already submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council calling on member states to coordinate and jointly reopen the route by “all necessary means”. It was supported by Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. On April 7, 11 out of 15 UNSC members voted in favor of that resolution.
But Russia and China vetoed the resolution, saying it was biased against Iran and did not address early attacks on Iran by the US and Israel.
Beyond the region, observers say the US is unlikely to accept indefinite toll demands by Iran as part of talks set to begin on Friday.
Professor Amin Saikal of the Australian National University said “passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be inconsistent with President Trump and his expectations that the Strait should be open to all”.
Other major powers have also expressed opposition. Before the armistice, Britain had begun discussions with 40 other countries to find a way to reopen the strait.
Experts say the practical realities in the strait may see a different scenario, with shipowners losing millions every day their ships remain stranded in an attempt to get them out quickly and without loss. At least for now, they are more likely to comply with Iran.
“If I were the owner of a VLCC (very large crude carrier) that weighs about 300,000 tons, which could be worth a quarter of a billion dollars… if they say we have laid mines, I would believe them,” Bhaskar said.
