TEHRAN, March 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iranian lawmakers have proposed a plan to 
impose tolls and taxes on ships passing through the strategic Strait of 
Hormuz, local media reported on Thursday.

Officials have said shipping conditions through the waterway will not return 
to those from before the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on 
Iran on February 28.

"We in parliament are pursuing a plan under which countries will pay tolls 
and taxes to the Islamic republic if the Strait of Hormuz is used as a secure 
route for transit, energy and food security," Tehran lawmaker Somayeh Rafiei 
was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"The security of the strait will be established with strength, authority and 
grandeur by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and countries must pay a tax in 
return," she said.

Traffic through the vital strait has been brought to a near-standstill since 
the start of the war.

Iranian forces have attacked multiple vessels, saying they failed to heed 
"warnings" against transiting the waterway.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that maritime 
traffic would "not return to its pre-war status".

In recent days, Iran has allowed some vessels from countries it considers 
friendly to pass, while warning it would block ships from countries it says 
have joined the "aggression" against it.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward said in an analysis on Tuesday that at 
least five ships exited the strait via Iranian waters on March 15 and 16.

A message from Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also said 
"the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used".