Hormuz conference participants refuse to send military forces to region

BRUSSELS, April 3. /TASS/. Participants in a conference on the Strait of Hormuz do not intend to send their military forces to the region while Israel and the United States continue their operation against Iran, Politico reported. The conference, chaired by the United Kingdom, was held as a virtual call and brought together 41 countries. Their leaders concluded that they would not resort to military action until a ceasefire is reached in the conflict. According to Politico, it was noted at the meeting that the number of tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz daily has dropped from 150 to 10-20. A representative of one of the participating countries told Politico that the use of the Black Sea Grain Initiative model in relation to the Strait of Hormuz was not discussed, but there might be "lessons to learn" from that. The UK Foreign Office said after the conference that participants rejected Iran’s proposal to charge for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to vessels linked to the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic. During the conflict, several tankers were attacked for transiting the strait without Tehran’s permission. On March 25, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had allowed friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan, to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. A member of the Iranian parliament’s Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, later said that ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be subject to a toll under the new law, soon to be adopted by the Iranian Majlis (Parliament).