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Iran is considering imposing transit fees for shipping vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, an apparent bid to fortify its hold on the vital waterway and as retaliation against its foes in the West.
Tehran has attacked and otherwise caused disruption to ships passing through the strait that it has deemed to be allied with the US and Israel, who started their war on Iran on February 28.
An Iranian politician said the country's parliament is considering legislation to levy tolls and taxes on countries with ships that use the strait, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported on Thursday.
Separately, Iran is also looking forward to a "new regime" for the Strait of Hormuz after the war is concluded, said Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader.
The move will be an act of sanction against "those domination-seeking arrogant powers using the Strait of Hormuz to not allow their ships to pass through the strait", he said, Iran's Mehr news agency reported.
"So far, the domination-seeking powers would sanction and limit us. But, at the end of the current imposed war, with drawing a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will turn its position from a sanctioned country to an enhanced power in the region and the world," he said in a meeting with economic officials. "Therefore, one of the results of this war must be drawing a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz."
Crude prices, which touched nearly $120 a barrel last Monday, remain high as the strait, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes, remains effectively shut. The conflict has also escalated with energy facilities hit by attacks this week.
With pressure building on the Trump administration over rising energy prices, the US has called on allies to help secure the strait. But the country has received lukewarm responses. European leaders gathering in Brussels on Thursday have already rejected pressure by US President Donald Trump to send frigates to help reopen the waterway.
