Iran permits passage through Strait of Hormuz for India, China, Russia; Aragchi says, ‘not completely closed’
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the global oil and gas trade, was effectively blocked by Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz remains open only to select countries, even as Tehran continues its military operations in the Gulf.
India, China, Russia, Iraq and Pakistan have been granted passage, while others face restrictions, signalling a significant escalation in tensions over one of the world’s most critical energy routes.
“We permitted passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly nations including China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan", Araghchi said.
Iran Defines Its Friends — and Its Enemies — at Hormuz
"The Strait of Hormuz, from our perspective, is not completely closed — it is closed only to enemies. There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass," Araghchi said, drawing a geopolitical fault line across one of the most consequential stretches of ocean on earth.
The move has sent shockwaves through global energy markets, with Brent crude climbing toward $104 a barrel on Thursday after shedding more than 2% the previous session. West Texas Intermediate traded near $92.
Oil Prices Surge as Hormuz Closure Chokes Global Energy Supply
Brent crude is on course for its steepest monthly gain since 1990, a benchmark that underscores just how severely the conflict has disrupted the energy-rich Middle East.
Millions of barrels of daily oil output have been lost since the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz began, while prices for refined products, from diesel to jet fuel, have climbed sharply. Asia, heavily dependent on Gulf crude, has been hit particularly hard.
The White House insisted peace negotiations remain ongoing, but Tehran flatly rejected those overtures, issuing its own conditions for any resolution — among them, sovereign control over the strait itself.
Iran's Parliament Eyes Tolls on Hormuz Shipping
Adding yet another layer of complexity, Iran's parliament is reportedly drafting legislation that would impose a fee on vessels in exchange for safe passage through the waterway.
The semi-official Fars news agency, citing an unnamed lawmaker, said the bill is expected to be finalised next week.
If enacted, it would effectively transform one of the world's busiest maritime corridors into a toll road controlled by Tehran, a development that would have profound implications for international shipping law and global trade.
ADNOC Chief Labels Iran's Hormuz Disruption 'Economic Terrorism'
The head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, speaking on Wednesday, Sultan Al Jaber, warned that Iran's actions at the Strait of Hormuz constitute nothing less than economic terrorism, with consequences felt far beyond the Gulf.
"When Iran holds the Strait of Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom at the gas pump, grocery store, and pharmacy," he said.
The disruption has already begun driving up the cost of fuel, food, fertiliser, and medicine — commodities whose supply chains are deeply intertwined with the movement of Gulf energy exports.
United Nations Demands Immediate Reopening of Strait of Hormuz
UN Secretary-General António Guterres added his voice to the growing chorus of international concern, calling for the immediate reopening of the strait amid mounting disruptions to global energy and food supplies. His statement was pointed and wide-ranging in its implications.
"The prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz is choking the movement of oil, gas, and fertiliser at a critical moment in the global planting season. Across the region and beyond, civilians are enduring serious harm and living under profound insecurity. The UN is working to minimise the consequences of the war. And the best way to minimise those consequences is clear: End the war — immediately," Guterres wrote on X.
About the Author
Sayantani Biswas is an assistant editor at Livemint with seven years of experience covering geopolitics, foreign policy, international relations and global power dynamics. She reports on Indian and international politics, including elections worldwide, and specialises in historically grounded analysis of contemporary conflicts and state decisions. She joined Mint in 2021, after covering politics at publications including The Telegraph. <br> She holds an MPhil in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University (2019), with a specialisation in postcolonial Latin American literature. Her research examined economic nationalism through Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America. She also writes on political language, cultural memory and the long shadows of conflict. <br> Biswas grew up in Durgapur, an industrial town in West Bengal shaped by migration, which drew families from across India to the Durgapur Steel Plant. As the only child in a joint family, she spent years listening—almost obsessively—to her grandparents’ testimonies of struggle, fear and loss as they fled Bangladesh during the Partition of 1947. This formative exposure to lived historical memory later converged with her training in Comparative Literature, equipping her to analyse socio-economic structures and their reverberations. <br> Outside the newsroom, she gravitates towards cultural history and critical theory, returning often to texts such as Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour and fairness, and believes political reporting demands not only clarity and speed, but historical depth, contextual precision, and a disciplined resistance to spectacle.
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