Iranian lawmaker says ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar are exempt from Hormuz restrictions

A senior Iranian lawmaker has said that Iran has exempted merchant ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar from restrictions on using the Strait of Hormuz, per Hindustan Times, The Sunday Guardian and The Siasat Daily. This piece is as of the evening of 4 November. The claim is the lawmaker's, as the outlets report it.

What he said

Hindustan Times names him as Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, deputy chairman of the national security and foreign policy committee of the Iranian parliament, and says he spoke to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) on Tuesday. He said ships from the four countries "pass freely" and that the Americans do not intercept them either. The Siasat Daily renders the name as Amir Hayat Moqaddam and says Anadolu Agency reported the remarks, citing ISNA. Open gives the name as Ahmad Hayat-Moghaddam and says he spoke at a meeting on economic and security developments, citing Anadolu.

Fees and reasons

According to Hindustan Times and The Sunday Guardian, he said Indian and Chinese vessels pay transit fees while Qatari vessels pass without charge, and did not specify whether Iraqi vessels pay. He said the exemption for Indian vessels is meant to facilitate imports of medicines from India, while the one for Chinese shipping is meant to secure China's political support, per Hindustan Times. The Sunday Guardian says he described the exemptions as linked to Iran's interests and relations with the four countries.

Why it matters to India

Hindustan Times says India imports almost 90% of its crude oil needs, and about 30% of these imports currently pass through the strait, down from about 70% in the past as New Delhi diversified to Russia, the US, West Africa and Fujairah in the UAE. The Siasat Daily also says that nearly 90% of India's LPG imports and more than half of its LNG purchases from Qatar and the UAE are carried through the strait, and that it is a key route for fertiliser imports.

Open cautions that the statement came from an Iranian lawmaker and does not by itself establish that every Indian vessel can pass safely or automatically, and says India has not publicly confirmed a change in its maritime safety position.