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Qatar has warned Iran it will bear full legal responsibility after three tankers, including a Qatari LNG vessel, were struck within hours in the strait of Hormuz.
All three vessels were struck close to Oman which had suggested a new shipping corridor close to its coastline – a proposal opposed by Iran, which wants to charge ships using the waterway.
Iran blamed the US for the incident on Thursday, saying that Washington’s efforts to open up new routes through the strait constituted a breach of the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran.
Iran claims the memorandum is specifically worded to leave Iran, in consultation with Oman, to manage the reopening of the strait with the aim of commercial traffic in the strait returning to pre-war levels within ۳۰ days.
At a briefing in Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry officials insisted Iran had a right to impose fees on all ships using the strait.
“Securing the strait for navigation for safe passage is itself a service”, said the foreign ministry spokesman, setting terms for the long term management of the strait that are likely to be rejected by Oman and western shipping interests.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO)said the Qatari tanker, Al Rekayyat, was hit near Limah, Oman, as it tried to travel south out of the strait toward the Gulf of Oman
In a Mayday call, the Al Rakayyat crew was heard sending out a message “we’re being hit by a drone top of port side near engine room”.
It was the first time that a Qatari ship has been struck since the start of the war between the US and Iran on ۲۸ February. Qatar has been acting as a key mediator in the talks, but the Qatar foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, called it a “serious and explicit violation” of international law and said Qatar would hold Iran fully responsible for the act of aggression.
Iran’s foreign ministry claimed that the memorandum left Iran alone to manage the reopening the strait over the ۳۰ days. The spokesman said: “But the US has been trying somehow to open new routes.”
He also rejected a proposal from Oman to build a new authority for the strait modelled on Malacca and Singapore Strait where fees are charged only for specific navigational services not including security.
“For a long time we have beengenerous enough not to ask for anything. Providing security is costly and Iran and Oman have been doing that for a long time. So from now on we’re going to ask for necessary costs when we provide related services, including securing the safe passage.”
The official told the Guardian: “When you provide in the English Channel you call it deep sea piloting, for instance, you call it different names, but that’s the same.”
But deep sea pilotage in busy waterways is regarded as voluntary.
Iran will face the criticism that it is demanding ships pay a compulsory fee or risk being attacked by Iran – a situation close to a protection scheme. Iran argues the strait became a contested waterway due to American aggression.
Iran’s foreign ministry also firmly rejected proposals from France and the UK that they start to de-mine and secure the southern route through the Strait close to the Oman shore.
The spokesman said: “When France and others said they were ready to help, we said ‘no thank you’ – this is for Iran to do it and we know how to do it.”
