Iran yesterday rowed back on its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a tanker attempting to pass through the waterway. It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach.
Two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British Maritime Trade Operations center said, adding that the tanker and its crew were safe.
Photo: AP
TankerTrackers.com reported vessels were forced to turn around in the strait, including an Indian-flagged super tanker, after they were fired on by Iran.
The developments came after US President Donald Trump said the blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with Washington, including on its nuclear program.
Tehran had reopened the strait on Friday to commercial vessels.
Despite the escalation, Pakistani officials said the US and Iran are still moving closer to a deal ahead of the ceasefire deadline on Wednesday next week.
Iran has prevented vessels from crossing Hormuz throughout the seven-week-long war, except for ones it authorizes, and said it would not hand over enriched uranium to the US.
Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iranians were not ready for a new round of face-to-face talks with the US, because the latter “have not abandoned their maximalist position.”
A senior Iranian lawmaker said only commercial vessels authorized by the Revolutionary Guard are allowed to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian National Security Commission head Ebrahim Azizi said commercial vessels must pay “required tolls” before transiting the strait, using a route set by Iran last month.
The mechanism could change “if the US attempts to create any disturbance for Iranian ships,” he added.
Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesperson said the Strait of Hormuz is only open during a ceasefire and conditionally, two Iranian semiofficial news agencies reported.
Brig. Gen. Reza Talaei-Nik said “military vessels and those linked to hostile forces have no right” of transit, according to the ISNA and Mehr news agencies.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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