Iran says ships from India, China, Qatar and Iraq are spared in Hormuz
· BehindLines newsroom
An Iranian official says ships from four countries, India, China, Iraq and Qatar, are free of the restrictions Iran applies in the Strait of Hormuz. The information is reported by Shafaq News (dated November 3) and by Al Jazeera (November 6).
What was said
Ahmad Hayat-Moghaddam (the spelling used by Shafaq; Al Jazeera writes Amir Hayat Moqaddam), deputy chairman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said on Tuesday, November 3, that these vessels move freely and that the Americans do not intercept them either. According to both sources, Qatar pays no passage fee, while Indian and Chinese ships remain subject to charges. For India he cites getting medicine into Iran; for China, Beijing's political backing. Al Jazeera notes he did not say whether Iraqi ships pay.
A practice that is not entirely new
Also per Al Jazeera, Iran effectively closed the strait early in the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, which began on February 28, 2026, then let countries it regards as friendly through in the following weeks. In April the Iranian military had already declared Iraq exempt, which Shafaq also recalls. The United States reimposed a naval blockade of Iran's southern ports in July; US Central Command says it covers every vessel entering or leaving Iranian ports, with humanitarian cargoes allowed through after inspection.
Why these countries matter
According to Kpler, cited by Al Jazeera, 42 percent of the 10.23 million barrels a day of Gulf crude that passed through the strait in October went to China and 13 percent to India. Qatar sent no liquefied natural gas through in August but 1.8 million tonnes in October; Iraqi crude rose from 1.69 to 2.65 million (unit not given by Al Jazeera; probably barrels a day) over the same period.
Analyst Wolfgang Pusztai judges that the exemption could weaken the blockade if Washington accepted it, and notes that the phrase "ships of these countries" is undefined (flag, owner or operator?). Lifting the blockade is among Tehran's demands before broader talks, which include its nuclear programme.
Security still uncertain
Chris Beauchamp of IG Group thinks the exemptions make only a limited difference for now. They have not guaranteed safety: on October 30 the Qatari gas carrier Al Mayeda was hit by unidentified objects, and more than 120 commercial ships have been struck in the region since the war began, October being the worst month according to IMO and UKMTO data reported by Al Jazeera.