SAEDNEWS: Germany's foreign minister on Monday rejected a proposal to offer financial incentives to Iran in an effort to secure Tehran's agreement to an international mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Saed News Political Desk, Germany's Foreign Minister said on Monday that the Islamic Republic of Iran should ultimately bear the costs of any future international mine-clearing operations conducted in the Strait of Hormuz.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made the remarks in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt. His comments came in response to proposals suggesting that Tehran should receive financial incentives in exchange for agreeing to international demining efforts in the strategic waterway.
Wadephul rejected the idea of offering incentives, claiming that there was no need to compensate Iran. He alleged that Iran had unlawfully mined an international shipping route and therefore should not expect financial benefits.
He added that if Germany and its European partners were to participate in mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz, they would not seek reimbursement immediately. However, he argued that requesting compensation from Tehran at a later stage would be justified.
The German foreign minister's remarks appear to be a response to Iran's recent proposal to impose service-related charges on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for providing maritime safety and navigation services.
The United States and several Western countries have argued that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz should return to the situation that existed before the conflict that began on February 27 of last year under the Iranian calendar reference, when commercial vessels transited the strait without paying such service fees. Tehran has rejected that position.
According to the report, some legal experts contend that Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz are supported by international legal principles, citing the United Nations Charter, the 1958 Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Under these legal frameworks, the report states that a coastal state may impose temporary protective measures and restrictions within its maritime jurisdiction when national security is threatened. It also argues that freedom of navigation under international law is not regarded as an unconditional or absolute right.
Morteza Abdi, head of the International Affairs Department of Iran's Center for Lawyers, Official Experts, and Family Counselors affiliated with the Judiciary, recently told Fars News Agency that Iran has assumed much of the cost of ensuring maritime safety, protecting energy shipping lanes, conducting search-and-rescue operations, preventing acts of sabotage, and safeguarding maritime infrastructure in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz over recent decades despite facing severe sanctions and security threats.
Abdi argued that continuing to provide maritime security and navigation services free of charge to countries and companies that have, in some cases, supported sanctions or hostile actions against Iran is inconsistent with the principles of international justice and the equitable sharing of collective security costs.
He further explained that international law distinguishes between charging vessels simply for transit and collecting fees for actual services rendered. According to his interpretation, a coastal state may lawfully charge for services such as pilotage, vessel traffic management, search and rescue, mine clearance, maritime security, and environmental protection.
In another part of the interview, Wadephul stated that Germany remains prepared to participate in an international mission aimed at restoring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. However, he emphasized that any deployment of German personnel would require a clear legal and political mandate.
