European Representatives Agree on Iran-Oman Transit Fees for Strait of Hormuz Shipping

European officials have reached a consensus that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global trade route, will be required to pay transit fees to Iran and Oman. This development follows recent US retaliatory strikes after an attack on a cargo ship in the strait. According to sources familiar with the closed-door discussions, the imposition of such "service fees" is now considered a settled matter, with the priority being to avoid further conflict with Iran at all costs.

Just days earlier, the Washington Post reported that despite public US opposition, Iran and Oman are advancing a plan to charge shipping companies for passage through the strait. Oman has formally proposed this arrangement to the US and other Western nations. While the US negotiating team has received the proposal, it has expressed reservations it plans to discuss with Omani officials.

If implemented, this would mark a significant shift in the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which has long been an international free navigation route between Iran and Oman. Prior to the recent conflict between Israel and Iran, oil and gas tankers transited the strait without fees en route from the Persian Gulf to global markets. During the hostilities, Iran effectively blockaded the strait, disrupting energy markets and causing a spike in oil and gas prices worldwide. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated their intention to make the strait a consistent revenue source by charging tolls on vessels.

The future of the Strait of Hormuz has become a key issue in US-Iran negotiations aimed at a long-term agreement to prevent further regional escalation. Freedom of navigation and transit arrangements in the strait are highly sensitive topics for Gulf states, energy exporters, and Western powers. The Omani proposal draws inspiration from the Malacca and Singapore Straits model, where a private fund supported by shipping company fees finances navigation safety, route maintenance, and related services. Oman and Iran hope to adapt this model to the new realities in the Strait of Hormuz.