Iran Grants Strait of Hormuz Transit Exemptions to
China, India, Iraq and Qatar
Statement confirms tacit practice since
start of war, as Iran favours its biggest oil customer and political backer,
economist says
1.
Four Countries Granted Exemptions: Iran has
reportedly allowed commercial vessels from China, India, Iraq and Qatar
to bypass restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz and transit freely.
2.
Statement by Iranian Lawmaker: Ahmad
Hayat-Moghaddam, Vice-Chairman of Iran's Parliamentary National Security and
Foreign Policy Committee, said the four countries had been granted exemptions
from transit restrictions.
3.
China's Special Treatment:
o
China's exemption is reportedly intended to secure
political support from Beijing.
o
China was already receiving preferential passage
for months, although Tehran had not officially acknowledged it.
o
China accounts for approximately 90% of Iran's
oil exports, making it Iran's principal oil buyer.
4.
Restrictions on Other Countries: Ships
from the US and its allies face:
o
Security screenings.
o
Transit tolls.
o
Possible attacks or seizure of vessels.
5.
Strategic Importance of Hormuz:
o
Approximately 25–30% of global seaborne oil
trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
o
Iran imposed restrictions following the US-Israel
war against Iran in February 2026.
o
The restrictions have disrupted oil shipments,
reduced global supplies and pushed up energy prices.
6.
China-Iran Political Relations: China
has maintained close political ties with Tehran during the conflict. Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed China's support for Iran in September and
called for a political settlement with the US.
7.
Impact of US Midterm Elections:
o
Analysts believe Iran may be using selective access
to Hormuz to signal its leverage over the US.
o
Democrats are due to take control of both houses of
Congress in January 2027.
o
The new Congress could legally challenge President
Trump's spending on the Iran war.
o
Brent crude prices have fallen approximately 4%
since the US election, amid market expectations of possible de-escalation.
8.
China's Oil Import Dependence:
o
China imported as much as 11.6 million barrels
of oil per day in 2025, according to the US Energy Information
Administration.
o
Despite preferential access, China is expected to
diversify its oil sourcing to reduce exposure to Hormuz-related disruptions.
9.
China's Domestic Energy Strategy: China's National
Energy Administration has indicated that the country will explore deep-sea,
deep-earth and unconventional domestic fuel resources to strengthen energy
security.
Key
Takeaway
Iran's selective exemption of China, India, Iraq
and Qatar from Strait of Hormuz restrictions demonstrates its use of maritime
access as an instrument of geopolitical and economic leverage. China's
preferential access is particularly significant because it purchases around 90%
of Iranian oil exports. However, the conflict has reinforced China's interest
in diversifying its energy supplies to reduce dependence on this strategic
chokepoint.
A
senior Iranian lawmaker said the country is letting commercial vessels from
China and three other countries bypass restrictions in the tightly controlled
Strait of Hormuz, securing China’s access to oil, including a large quantity
sold by Iran itself.
Ships
from China, India, Iraq and Qatar had been “granted exemptions from transit
restrictions” and could navigate the strait freely, said Ahmad Hayat-Moghaddam,
vice-chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy
Committee, according to reports by citizen-run Iranwire
and multiple Indian news outlets this week.
China’s
exemption aimed “to secure [Iran’s] political backing from Beijing”, Iranwire reported.
Ships
from the US and its allies face screenings, transit tolls and sometimes attacks
or seizures in the Iran-controlled strait leading into the Persian Gulf. Some
25 to 30 per cent of the world’s total seaborne oil trade passes through the
strait.
Iran
imposed the curbs after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in February. The
restrictions have backed up oil shipments, squelching global supply and raising
prices.
Vessels
from China had quietly been allowed to pass for months because the country buys
so much oil from Iran, although Tehran never said so officially, said Liang
Yan, a professor of economics at Willamette University in the US.
“From
the very get-go they’ve been giving a special pass to China, mostly because
they are selling oil to China,” she said. “They had never wanted to target
China’s assets through the Strait of Hormuz.”
China
was the primary buyer of Iranian oil even before the war began, with its
purchases accounting for roughly 90 per cent of all exports, according to the
American congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
China
has maintained upbeat political ties with Iran throughout the conflict. Foreign
Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed Chinese support for Tehran in September and called
for a political settlement to the conflict with the US.
Iran
may feel emboldened to parcel out Strait of Hormuz access as it wishes now
because it expects US pressure to ease after a Democratic Party-controlled US
Congress takes power in January following this week’s election, analysts said.
“It
could be a signalling device to show the US administration that it lost so
badly because of the cost-of-living factor, which can be related to the Strait
of Hormuz squeeze and spiralling fuel prices,” said Jayant Menon, a visiting
senior fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Congress
can legally challenge US President Donald Trump’s spending on the war in Iran,
which Vice-President J.D. Vance cited as a reason for the Republican Party’s
election losses.
Brent
crude oil prices have dropped about 4 per cent since the election on market
expectations that a Democratic Congress will de-escalate the war.
But
China would aim to diversify oil purchases away from Iran because of the
volatile situation in the strait, Willamette University’s Liang said. The
manufacturing powerhouse imported as many as 11.6 million barrels of oil per
day in 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
China
will keep looking for deep-sea, deep-earth and “unconventional” domestic fuel
sources, an official with the National Energy Administration’s Development
Planning Department said on Friday.
“The
war shows the Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint, so China has an interest to diversify,”
Liang said.