Iranian state television reported that European countries are negotiating with Iran to obtain permission to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a sea route of strategic importance for international trade that has been blocked since the start of the conflict in the Middle East in February this year, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"After vessels from East Asian countries, including China, Japan and Pakistan, passed through the strait, today we received information that the Europeans have started negotiations with the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the passage of the Strait of Hormuz," state television reported, without specifying which European countries were involved.
This morning, the chairman of the The National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, said that the country "has established a professional mechanism for managing shipping" in the Strait of Hormuz, which will soon come into effect.
"Only commercial ships and countries that cooperate with Iran will be allowed to pass, and fees will be charged for special services," Azizi stressed.
"The strait will remain closed to participants in the so-called "Freedom Project," Azizi added, referring to the eponymous US military operation aimed at getting blocked commercial ships out of the strait.
The US has also imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports despite a shaky ceasefire agreement that came into effect on April 8, AFP recalls.