TEHRAN — Iranian Deputy Parliament Speaker Hamid Reza Hajibabaei warned Monday that any regional effort to circumvent Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as an act of war.
Hajibabaei, speaking in a interview with Iranian national television, said Iran must not relinquish its leverage over regional energy flows. 
“Any move that leads to bypassing the Strait of Hormuz or helps the U.S. in exerting economic pressure on the Iranian nation is, in fact, an act of war against the Islamic Republic,” he said. 
“The actions of countries that are helping to bypass this strait must be monitored and confronted.”
Parliament Speaker Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States recognizes Iran’s rights and fulfills conditions Tehran has conveyed through mediators including Qatar.
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei listed seven conditions, including ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, and lifting the naval blockade.
Iran began restricting oil and gas flows through Hormuz in early March, days after U.S. and Israeli forces launched a terrorist war on the country. 
The unprovoked war triggered a global energy shock, with daily transits through the strait dropping from roughly 120 vessels before the war to about 14, according to shipping data.
Hajibabaei has repeatedly asserted Iran’s sovereignty over the waterway. In May, he declared that “in the past, the Strait of Hormuz belonged to us, but we did not have sovereignty over it. However, in this war, we have seized sovereignty over it”.
He stressed that the deep-water channel used by ships falls within Iranian territory.
Iran’s Parliament is advancing legislation that would formalize restrictions on the strait. 
A draft bill approved by the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee would permanently ban Israeli ships, require vessels from “hostile states” to pay war reparations before passage, and impose fines of up to 20 percent of cargo value for violations. A separate bill includes provisions for tolls payable in Iranian rials and a permanent ban on Israeli-linked cargo.
The Central Bank of Iran has confirmed that toll revenues from ships transiting Hormuz have been collected in cash and deposited into state accounts. 
Hajibabaei said all vessels using the waterway are required to pay passage fees in rials “in recognition of Iran’s legitimate right over the use of Iranian territorial waters”.
Hajibabaei said the only way to render the U.S. blockade ineffective is for Iran to tighten its grip on energy flows. 
“Energy management is what forces the U.S. and Europe to retreat,” he said. “If energy exports from the Persian Gulf are controlled and managed, the U.S. blockade will be rendered ineffective.”