TEHRAN – Iran’s parliamentary national security and foreign policy committee has approved Article 3 of a strategic plan to charge ships for services provided in the Strait of Hormuz, a lawmaker said on Sunday, as Tehran moves to formalize its administration of the strategic waterway.
The plan, titled “Strategic Action Plan for Securing and Advancing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf,” was first introduced to parliament on July 13, with the general framework approved without opposition in August.
“Under Article 3, charges will be collected for services including navigation, environmental services, fuel supply under special circumstances, insurance, safety, and other services provided in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Hassan Qashqavi, spokesman for the parliamentary committee, according to IRNA.
Qashqavi said the fees “will be collected from ships of countries authorized to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, in rials or any other currency deemed appropriate by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iran took over administration of the strait on Feb. 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory. 
Lawmakers have described the plan as a natural measure. “This is entirely natural, just as goods pay transit fees when passing through other corridors, the Strait of Hormuz is also a corridor,” lawmaker Muhammadreza Rezaei Kouchi said in March. “We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees,”
Qashqavi noted that Persian Gulf states have recognized the strait’s special conditions, pointing