Draft bill on the Strait of Hormuz is under consideration by various Iranian parliamentary committees

ON 26 JULY, AL JAZEERA QUOTED THE IRANIAN NATIONAL BROADCASTING CORPORATION (IRIB) AS REPORTING THAT THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE OF THE IRANIAN PARLIAMENT, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON JUSTICE, ECONOMICS AND CIVIL AFFAIRS, WAS CONSIDERING A DRAFT BILL ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ. ALTHOUGH IRAN HAS NOT YET PUBLISHED THE SPECIFICS OF THE DRAFT BILL, OFFICIALS HAVE PREVIOUSLY INDICATED THAT IT IS INTENDED TO ESTABLISH IRAN ' S SOVEREIGNTY OVER THIS SEA LANE AND THAT IT IS PROPOSED TO LEVY FEES ON SHIPS PASSING THROUGH THE STRAIT. IN MAY, THE DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE IRANIAN PARLIAMENT, ALI NIKZAD, STATED THAT THE DRAFT STIPULATED THAT ISRAELI VESSELS “NEVER BE ALLOWED TO PASS THROUGH THE STRAITS OF HORMUZ” AND THAT SHIPS FROM “ENEMY STATES” WOULD NOT BE GRANTED ACCESS UNLESS WAR-RELATED LOSSES WERE COMPENSATED. KIM XIAN