Iran exempts Indian, Chinese, Iraqi and Qatari ships from Hormuz curbs

Iran has exempted ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Amir Hayat Moghadam, Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. Business Standard, Dainik Jagran MP CG, The Sunday Guardian and OdishaBytes all reported his remarks, made in an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). Business Standard spells his name Moghadam, while the other three outlets write Hayat-Moghaddam.

What we know

• Business Standard reported that Hayat Moghadam made the announcement to ISNA on Tuesday, and quoted him as saying: "Ships from these countries pass freely, and the Americans do not intercept them either."
• Business Standard reported that he said the exemption for Indian ships was meant to allow imports of medicines from India, and that the exemption for Chinese vessels was meant to secure Beijing's political support.
• Dainik Jagran MP CG and OdishaBytes reported that he said Iran collects transit fees from Indian and Chinese vessels, while Qatari vessels pass without charge.
• Business Standard reported that Iran allows only a few vessels through the waterway, while others undergo screening and, in some cases, pay transit fees.
• OdishaBytes reported that the European Union has said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has put in place a system requiring ships to provide identification and information on their cargo and destination to secure passage.
• Business Standard reported that an Indian sailor was killed in an attack on the commercial vessel MSV Al Jusufi near Limah in Oman on Monday evening.

What we don't know yet

• Dainik Jagran MP CG, The Sunday Guardian and OdishaBytes each reported that Hayat Moghadam did not say whether Iraqi vessels must pay transit fees.
• Dainik Jagran MP CG reported that the announcement did not specify how long the exemptions last, what procedures vessels must follow, or whether the policy covers all commercial cargoes.
• Dainik Jagran MP CG reported that no official estimate has been released on how much additional oil, LPG or LNG could move through the strait, or whether the measure would affect prices.
• The outlets give different counts of seafarer deaths. Business Standard reported at least 15 Indian seafarers killed since the conflict began in February, while The Sunday Guardian, citing The Indian Express, put the figure at 16 as of October 15. OdishaBytes, citing the International Maritime Organization, reported 19 seafarers killed in attacks between February and August, fifteen of them Indian.

Background

Qatar Standard reported in October that the United States and Iran each claimed control of the Strait of Hormuz while attacks on ships continued, and that October had seen the most ship attacks since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. In September, Qatar Standard reported that Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar's prime minister, called for access through the strait to be secured under international law rather than controlled unilaterally by any one party.