ATHENS – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered sharp criticism Wednesday regarding Iran’s proposal to charge vessels for safe passage through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, calling such measures completely unacceptable and a threat to maritime freedom worldwide.
The ongoing conflict has jeopardized Gulf shipping operations and created significant disruptions to international commerce through the crucial waterway, which typically handles approximately 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas transportation.
Greece operates one of the world’s most extensive commercial shipping fleets measured by cargo capacity.
As ceasefire negotiations continue involving the United States and Israel, Tehran has floated the idea of implementing passage fees for ships traveling safely through the strategic chokepoint it controls. President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that America and Iran might jointly manage such toll collection, though White House officials emphasized their focus remains on fully reopening the waterway without restrictions.
Mitsotakis emphasized that unrestricted maritime passage through the strait has long been established and must remain so.
“I don’t think that the international community would be ready to accept Iran setting up a toll booth for every ship that crosses the strait,” Mitsotakis told CNN. “That seems to me to be completely unacceptable.”
The conservative leader suggested that new international agreements governing the strait might become necessary.
“But this agreement cannot, I repeat, cannot include a sort of a fee that ships will have to pay every time they cross the strait. This was not the case before the war started and it cannot be the case after the war finishes,” he said.
“We would be setting a very, very dangerous precedent, if that were to happen, for the freedom of navigation.”
