TEHRAN, Iran — A senior Iranian parliamentary official announced on Thursday that Tehran has received the first revenue from tolls imposed on ships passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that has become a flashpoint in the ongoing war between Iran, the United States, and Israel.
"The first revenue received from the Strait of Hormuz tolls was deposited into the Central Bank account," said Hamidreza Hajibabaei, deputy speaker of parliament, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Other Iranian media outlets carried the same statement without providing further details.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas flows in peacetime, has seen drastically reduced traffic since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28. Iran has permitted only a limited number of vessels to pass, effectively using the waterway as leverage in the conflict.
The announcement follows months of debate in Iran's parliament over whether to impose tolls on shipping. On March 30, Iranian state media reported that the parliament's security commission had approved a plan to impose tolls, but it remained unclear if a final parliamentary vote had occurred.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressuring Iran to reopen the strait. Meanwhile, Britain, France, and military planners from over 30 countries have held talks to protect navigation, with Paris and London pledging to lead a multinational mission "as soon as conditions allow."
Iranian officials have warned that maritime traffic through the strait will "not return to its pre-war status."