On March 30, Iran announced a shocking plan related to the Strait of Hormuz - the "throat" of global oil and gas transportation, where about 1/5 of the world's oil supply passes through every day.
Accordingly, the Iranian Parliament officially passed a law on collecting transit fees for commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state television IRIB said that this law aims to "enforce Iran's sovereign role and armed forces" in the strategic area. The main contents include establishing a new security mechanism, strengthening maritime surveillance, ensuring navigation safety - and especially collecting rial fees for ships passing through.
Notably, the law also mentions the possibility of completely banning US and Israeli ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz - a move that could push tensions to an unprecedented level.
Hormuz is currently the central hotspot of the conflict that broke out on February 28, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Since then, Tehran has continuously signaled to tightly control this sea route, even causing global oil flows to fall into a "breathless" state.
It is estimated that about 15 million barrels of oil per day have been trapped in the Persian Gulf due to threats and attacks targeting commercial ships. The energy market is therefore constantly fluctuating strongly, with oil prices fluctuating unpredictably.
In a related development, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf rejected US President Donald Trump's statement that the two sides are conducting negotiations. He said that this is just a trick to manipulate the psychology of the US stock market.
So-called'news' before trading hours are actually just profit-taking tools" - Mr. Ghalibaf wrote on social network X, implying that Mr. Trump's statements may be aimed at reducing the negative impact on the financial market.
Mr. Ghalibaf even gave a "reverse" advice: If the market is "pumped with confidence", sell short; if it is "submerged", buy in.
In another message, Mr. Ghalibaf warned that Iran would make "the enemy regret it", affirming that any attack would be retaliated against many times.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei also confirmed that there was no negotiation with the US, although admitting that the intermediaries had forwarded the proposal to Tehran. He emphasized that Iran "does not forget the betrayal of diplomacy", implying that previous indirect contacts all led to military action from the US and Israel.
