Bahrain rejects permit, fee regime for Strait of Hormuz passage

Bahrain on Friday rejected any permit or fee system for passage through the Strait of Hormuz saying transit through the international waterway cannot be suspended or subjected to unilateral conditions.

Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said the right of transit through the strait is guaranteed under international law for vessels of all states.

“The kingdom categorically rejects any permit or fee regime imposed on passage,” Al Zayani told the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

He also rejected using international waterways as instruments of pressure or economic coercion, warning that accepting restrictions in Hormuz could set a precedent for other strategic waterways.

Al Zayani said alternative shipping routes could not replace the right of passage through the strait or justify restrictions on navigation.

Turning to regional tensions, he accused Iran of carrying out nearly 7,000 attacks against Gulf Cooperation Council states and Jordan, involving 1,700 ballistic missiles, 80 cruise missiles and 5,220 drones.

He said 2,000 cargo vessels and tankers carrying 20,000 seafarers had also been detained, while 72 commercial vessels were targeted, killing 22 seafarers.

The foreign minister said attacks on commercial vessels and restrictions on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz had repercussions far beyond the Gulf, including higher energy, food, shipping and insurance costs, and disruptions to global supply chains.

He condemned attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on civilian sites and Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, as well as threats to navigation through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea.

Al Zayani said security in the Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb formed part of a single maritime security system and warned that threats to one waterway could affect navigation in others.