Iran has announced plans to introduce maritime transit fees for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz within two months, following a 60-day negotiation period triggered by the recently signed memorandum of understanding with the United States, according to a report by The Guardian.The announcement came after Washington lifted its blockade of Iran on Thursday, allowing oil tankers to resume movement through one of the world’s most important shipping lanes. Tehran, claiming a historic victory over the US, said the strategic waterway remained under its control and signalled opposition to any European-led naval escort mission in the strait. The development coincides with continuing regional tensions despite the US-Iran agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth as saying Israel “will maintain the security zone in south Lebanon as long as our security needs require it”, referring to territory occupied by Israeli forces along the Lebanon border.On Iran, Netanyahu said Israel would continue to “adhere to the supreme objective” of preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.Iran has argued that the agreement’s commitment to Lebanon’s territorial integrity requires a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, placing responsibility on US President Donald Trump to ensure Israel complies.Trump said on Thursday afternoon that the US expected “a complete ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel”.“We encourage everyone in the Middle East Region to maintain their commitment to allowing our negotiations to beautifully unfold,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.According to The Guardian, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has approved the agreement with Washington and endorsed direct negotiations with the Trump administration. Khamenei reportedly said Trump had “used all kinds of levers” to secure the deal “out of desperation”.Khamenei has not appeared in public since assuming office in March following the killing of his father.Despite diplomatic progress, violence continued on the ground. Israeli drone strikes and artillery shelling were reported on Thursday morning, while Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacks against Israeli forces in the Kfar Tebnit-Ali al-Taher area.The agreement has also sparked criticism within Israel. An opinion piece in The Times of Israel argued that the US-Israel war on Iran had been lost due to “US presidential weakness”, reflecting broader dissatisfaction among some Israeli political circles.US Vice President JD Vance defended Trump during a White House briefing and criticised Israeli detractors.“Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who’s sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time,” Vance said. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”Meanwhile, a planned formal ceremony marking the signing of the US-Iran memorandum in Switzerland has been cancelled, although Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have already signed the document in English and Farsi.The cancellation means Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who acted as chief mediator, will no longer travel to Switzerland for the event. However, technical-level talks are expected to proceed at the Qatari-owned Bürgenstock resort near Lake Lucerne.The discussions will focus on implementing the 14-clause memorandum, including sanctions relief for Iran’s oil exports and restoring commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.However, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf suggested that future navigation through the strait would come with a cost, saying the waterway needed to be managed.The proposal drew immediate criticism from Saudi Arabia. Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said: “The management of the strait was working fine before the conflict. There were no issues. Ships were navigating freely. There was no safety issue. There was no environmental issue.“So why should we now, as a result of a conflict, accept some novel arrangement that is going to be imposed on it? That, to me, doesn’t make sense. So I think we need to go back to the way it was, and that worked fine, and that should be the end of it.”The United Arab Emirates also weighed in on post-war regional dynamics. Muath Alwari, the UAE’s director of policy planning, said the country had endured some of the most extensive Iranian attacks during the conflict, targeting hotels, tourist sites and civilian infrastructure.He added that the UAE’s defence relationship with Israel had strengthened during the war and would continue to deepen.“It does not change our calculus that motivated us in the very beginning to pursue the Abraham accords,” Alwari said, referring to the agreements that normalised relations between the UAE and Israel.As Tehran seeks to repair ties with Gulf neighbours, Iranian officials are also looking to secure regional backing for a planned $350 billion reconstruction fund that the US has agreed to establish, according to The Guardian.Iran’s Economy Minister Seyed Ali Madanizadeh cautioned that the lifting of restrictions on oil exports would not immediately transform the country’s finances.
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He said the conflict had sharply reduced government revenues and worsened budget pressures, adding: “It’s not like everything will just return to normal.”
