Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Tehran was collecting fees for “navigational services” on ships transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, rather than imposing tolls.
“The services that are provided — navigational services in addition to the measures necessary to protect the environment of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman — require the collection of certain fees,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei in a weekly press briefing. He added that Iran was “not seeking to collect tolls”.
Meanwhile, Islamabad’s key negotiator between the United States and Iran, army chief Asim Munir, is in Beijing alongside the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for talks with Chinese leaders, Pakistan television shows.
Munir was in Tehran on Friday and Saturday alongside Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi as part of ongoing mediation efforts to formally end the Iran war.
China has said it would work with Pakistan to “make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East.” (AFP)
