MADRID, April 17. /TASS/. There is no legal basis for imposing tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez stated.

"The right to freedom of navigation in straits is not up for debate and is not a subject of negotiation for the IMO," he pointed out in an interview with El Pais. "There are no legal grounds for imposing tolls in the strait," the UN official emphasized. "It is not in accordance with international law for a country to arbitrarily establish an additional corridor when we already have one," Dominguez added. "Iran has every right to submit a proposal and justify its necessity, but it must be submitted jointly with Oman, as this is precisely what international law requires," he stressed.

According to the IMO head, the world "only pays attention to maritime transport when it is affected, and this causes economic damage to people."

On February 28, the US and Israel launched a war against Iran. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, came under attack. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation against Israel. Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships associated with the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against Tehran.

On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the American delegation was headed by Vice President JD Vance. Both sides later reported that they were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement of the conflict due to a number of contradictions. The prospects for advancing dialogue between Tehran and Washington remain unclear. The US imposed a naval blockade on Iran on April 13.