Shafaq News- Tehran

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, announced on Thursday a “new management” plan for the Strait of Hormuz, pledging to bring “calm and economic benefits” to the region while reaffirming Tehran’s commitment to securing the Gulf.

In a statement, Khamenei described the deployment of US forces in Gulf states as a key driver of tensions.

He said Iran shares a common destiny with its neighbors and will work to secure the Gulf and end “violations in the waterway,” adding that the new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring calm, progress, and economic benefits to Gulf states while pointing to a future without a US presence.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) noted in a statement marking National Persian Gulf Day that Gulf security can only be achieved through regional cooperation among littoral states without foreign forces, describing the Gulf as a vital artery for the region’s economy, energy, and communications, and calling for stability and sustainable security through collective regional participation.

On April 28, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for the immediate restoration of maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to pre-February 28 conditions, and rejected any measures that could disrupt shipping, including the imposition of transit fees on passing vessels.

Iran began collecting transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz last week, according to lawmaker Ali Reza Salimi, with the Central Bank confirming it received the payments in cash.