Oman, a coastal country along the Strait of Hormuz, said it will not impose any tolls on ships passing through the strait in the future.
Badr Al-Busaidi, Oman's foreign Minister, said on the 25th (local time) at a meeting in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gulf region foreign Ministers, "Any future measures related to the strait will never include imposing tolls."
Iran had said it would impose Strait of Hormuz transit service fees together with Oman after 60 days under a previous memorandum of understanding (MOU). Starting 60 days after follow-up talks on a previous agreement with the United States begin, the plan is to charge merchant ships fees under the pretext of providing safety, navigation, environmental and insurance services.
However, a day later, Oman said there will be no tolls, creating a discrepancy between the sides' explanations. This contradicts Iran's plan.
Earlier, Iran and Oman announced in a joint statement after a high-level meeting on the 23rd that they were jointly reviewing a plan to impose Strait of Hormuz transit service fees.
In this regard, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by phone with Minister Al-Busaidi and plans to hold talks on regulations for managing the Strait of Hormuz and maritime services.
Minister Araghchi wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "I had a productive phone call with Minister Al-Busaidi," adding, "The two countries, together with neighboring nations, have a firm resolve to continue the relevant discussions."