TEHRAN, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran is currently receiving between 1.5 million and 2 million U.S. dollars on average from each vessel that passes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday.
Citing Mohsen Zanganeh, a member of the Iranian parliament's planning and budget committee, who gave the figure, Fars reported that Iran has started the implementation of a plan to collect service fees from ships crossing the strait.
It quoted Ali Nikzad, the Iranian parliament's deputy speaker, as saying in May that the legislative body was developing a 12-point plan for the management of the waterway.
Fars said it has obtained information that a group has been formed to implement the plan in cooperation with the Iranian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance under the supervision of the Supreme National Security Council, adding that the funds received will be deposited into Iran's treasury and spent for designated purposes.
It noted that part of the payments is made in the form of Tether (USDT), a cryptocurrency stablecoin, and goods or through barter.
Meanwhile, Ahmadreza Lahijanzadeh, deputy head of Iran's Department of Environment for marine and wetlands affairs, said on Sunday the department has begun drafting a set of regulations for collecting toll in return for providing environmental services in the strait, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Lahijanzadeh told a press conference in Tehran that the move is aimed at organizing maritime services and developing the legal and environmental frameworks related to the ships' passage through the waterway.
Iran tightened its grip on the strait beginning Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.
The United States has also imposed a naval blockade on the strait, preventing ships traveling to and from Iranian ports from transiting the waterway. Enditem
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