TEHRAN- An economic analyst believes: The opportunity that has arisen today in the shadow of Iran's exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz must be pursued within the framework of a legal and economic regime appropriate to the region's security and strategic conditions in order to consolidate Iran's sovereignty over this waterway.

According to IRNA, while international maritime laws allow coastal states to charge passing ships for maritime, environmental, and security services, before the third imposed war and the move to manage the Strait of Hormuz as a tool to manage the war and the movements of hostile countries against Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran had not made much use of this capacity in the Strait of Hormuz.

This is while experts believe that dependence on oil revenues and neglect of the maritime economy are among the most important reasons for this backwardness. However, the announcement of the general policies of a "maritime-oriented economy" by the Leader in 2022 and the drafting of its action plan during the administration of the late President Raisi have opened a new horizon for Iran. Analysts also emphasize that Iran must go beyond collecting tolls and present an intelligent legal and economic regime for exercising sovereignty over this strategic waterway, and within this framework, Oman can also play a role.

Mousa Shahbazi, an economic analyst, in an interview with IRNA, in response to the question of why Iran has not yet taken action regarding collecting maritime fees in the Strait of Hormuz, said: The first point is that we have not been actively involved in the Strait of Hormuz waterway until now; neither in terms of providing maritime services nor in terms of other shipping security services and similar matters. This has been a neglected issue by our country.

He added: In general, our experience in the maritime domain shows that unfortunately we have made little use of this vast capacity of the maritime economy. We have the same issue regarding fuel supply to ships and the bunkering industry. The bunkering industry provides a package of fuel supply, insurance, crew services, and environmental issues, but so far we have not made much use of this capacity.

Shahbazi explained the reasons for this: There are several reasons for this. One reason is that we have generally not looked at the enormous capacities of the maritime economy. Our dependence on the oil economy had made us neglect this vast capacity.

He continued: The second reason is that our rivals in the Persian Gulf countries had much more serious designs in this regard and were able to offer bunkering services very seriously until recent years.

The economic analyst, recalling the announcement of the general policies of a maritime-oriented economy in 2022, stated: For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the issue of paying attention to the maritime-oriented economy was considered at the highest level.

He added: This policy was turned into a program during the administration of the late President Raisi, and the resolution on measures related to the general policies of a maritime-oriented economy was drafted and announced. Many and numerous duties were assigned to various institutions in that approved program in order to utilize this vast capacity – both the maritime economy and the issue of coasts and hinterlands.

* Special attention must be paid to the economic capacity of Strait of Hormuz

Shahbazi stated: The opportunity that has arisen today due to the circumstances of the third imposed war, and Iran was able to largely prove its exercise of sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz, must from now on be pursued within the framework of a legal and economic regime appropriate to the region's security and strategic conditions.

He continued: This regime must be a legal and economic regime that is intelligent from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran's exercise of sovereignty. It should not merely look at the issue as closing the strait, but should be seen as a game with the great powers in the economic matter.

He added: In these circumstances, within this package, which is called the bunkering document, we can offer a set of maritime, insurance, personnel, and refueling services. Both the Seventh Development Plan has a duty in this regard and the general policies of the maritime-oriented economy have mentioned it.

* Issue of Strait of Hormuz should not be limited to collecting tolls

In response to the question of what the future of the Strait of Hormuz would be in the event of an agreement between Iran and the US and its reopening on the condition of receiving maritime services and paying fees to the coastal states (Iran and Oman), Shahbazi said: Our issue in the new security situation is not merely collecting tolls or money for services; rather, we must exercise sovereignty in this waterway for strategic and security reasons because our security is threatened through this route.

The economic expert noted: We must inspect ships and not allow ships belonging to the Zionist regime to pass through this waterway, and the conditions for transit through the Strait of Hormuz must be determined by Iran and Oman.

He noted: The services that can be provided to ships in the Strait of Hormuz are not only environmental and maritime services, but also security and economic services.

The economic analyst emphasized: If these matters are defined in the management of the Strait of Hormuz, then the initiative will be in the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and a new legal and economic regime will be put on the table in which countries such as Oman can have a share.

Shahbazi concluded by noting: The new security and economic initiative in the Strait of Hormuz is an issue beyond just the Strait of Hormuz, because the economy is tightly intertwined with security. From now on, the investments taking place in the countries south of the Persian Gulf will also be one of the pieces of the legal regime. In my opinion, this is entirely feasible, and incidentally, this is our winning card in this regard.

He added: This issue should by no means be reduced to lifting the naval blockade and earning income. We should by no means say that if the blockade is lifted, free passage will be allowed in this waterway, because now the main issue is the exercise of sovereignty, not earning income.

EF/MA