Full story
Hormuz Waiver After Visit
Iran granted permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after repeated requests from Baghdad through various channels, IRNA reported on Saturday.
“Iran has granted permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz”
The authorization came in the days after Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s visit to Iraq, during which securing a passage for Iraqi oil exports was one of the main issues on the agenda.
Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said on Saturday that Iran had facilitated the passage of vessels carrying Iraqi oil through the Strait in recent days and that Baghdad discussed the export of Iraqi oil through Hormuz with Iranian officials at the Baghdad Dialogue policy conference.
The issue remained complicated for Iraq, with shipping traffic still significantly below pre-war levels and ships continuing to face attacks in the area, Reuters said.
Before the outbreak of the Iran war, Iraq produced around 4 million barrels of oil per day, and Baghdad is working to expand exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port and begin exporting through Syria’s Baniyas port and Jordan’s Aqaba port, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Friday.
Competing Narratives
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, described the situation around the strait as a “holding pattern that applies not only to Iraqis but also all countries.”
Asadi said the Strait of Hormuz remained “still vague” because Iran had been involved in talks with Oman to find arrangements for reopening the strait, and he added that “the United States is another determinant when it comes to the closure of the strait.”
Iraqi President Nizar Amedi told the Baghdad Dialogue policy conference that the issue remained complicated, while he also said Baghdad would not accept Iraqi territory being used to launch attacks against any other country.
Mostafa Khoshcheshm, a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Tehran, told Al Jazeera that Iran decided to let Iraqi oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz because Baghdad has “always stood up to the United States.”
The BBC framed the decision as “First fruits of Qalibaf's visit to Iraq,” noting that IRNA said Tehran granted a “special permit” for a number of Iraqi tankers to pass through the strait.
Sanctions and Security Stakes
The Hormuz passage decision arrived as Tehran continued to leverage its ability to disrupt navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure card in its confrontation with the United States, Reuters said.
““the most stringent sanctions in history,””
Reuters also said shipments through the strait had largely halted, with Iran threatening to strike any tanker passing without its permission, while the United States imposed an effective blockade on Iranian vessels at ports.
The BBC reported that the exception granted to Iraq came ahead of an expected American announcement on Monday of a new package of sanctions on Iran, and it quoted U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen describing the anticipated measures as “the most stringent sanctions in history.”
France 24 reported Iran’s warning that any country participating in the United States’ “economic war” would be considered “an enemy,” quoting Mohsen Rezai on state television.
In parallel, Al Jazeera reported that Iraq’s oil exports depend on the maritime corridor and that traffic in the strait remains significantly below pre-war levels, leaving Baghdad to keep seeking alternate export routes through ports including Ceyhan, Baniyas, and Aqaba.