Senior Iranian lawmaker says bill to set up Hormuz’s legal regime ready

Tehran: A senior Iranian lawmaker has said that a parliamentary bill on the legal regime of the Strait of Hormuz is ready and will be passed as a “deterrent law” once the legislative body resumes operations.

Ebrahim Azizi, Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, made the remarks on the sidelines of a commemoration ceremony in Tehran while commenting on the parliament’s decision to approve legislation that would block vessels tied to Israel and the United States through the Strait of Hormuz and impose tolls on other ships deemed non-hostile.

Azizi said the bill is ready and has been discussed in a series of meetings with the country’s relevant authorities, including the Foreign Ministry and Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Azizi said on Thursday that Iran has always sought to ensure safe and free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that the US military presence and Israel’s “adventurism” are the main roots of the insecurity and instability in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, the country’s official news agency IRNA reported.

Ali Khezrian, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV, in response to the clashes between Iran and the United States in and around the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday and Friday.

“No one will be able to take military action against Iranian vessels any longer without facing a response,” he said, adding that the Iranian military first responded on Thursday night, when it targeted the US destroyers after the Iranian ships were harassed by the US Navy and US Central Command during the ceasefire.

From now on, the Americans should know that Iran will safeguard its sovereignty over territorial and extraterritorial waters for its ships’ security, said the lawmaker.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported the “sporadic clashes” between the Iranian armed forces and US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.

–IANS