Iran raises fuel prices, warns against military involvement in strait

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says negotiations on an agreement with Oman has reached the final stage over a temporary safe route in the Strait of Hormuz.

He also issues a general warning to all countries against being used instrumentally by the United States, singling out South Korea for potential military involvement in strait conflict.

Baghaei says in a weekly press briefing on Monday they are finalising the Iran-Oman agreement at this point despite occasional interruptions caused by third-party interference.

He says in the coming days, the two countries' understanding on the new shipping route "will be registered with the International Maritime Organization."

Regarding South Korea's latest announcement that it is reviewing options including military measures to support free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian diplomat warns that South Korea and other parties surely understand any operational involvement in the region will be seen as direct support for the aggressor side and "amount to complicity" in an overt military aggression.

This will definitely not make maritime routes any safer, Baghaei says.

He goes on to underscore attacks on Iranian oil tankers constitute a war crime, and rejects Washington's claims that Tehran is to blame for disrupting commercial shipping and driving up energy prices.

Baghaei states it's the US that sparked the crisis by launching offensives against Iran.

The Iranian government has warned that energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, including US oil and gas assets, was "vulnerable," as it threatens retaliations for new US strikes.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed down, with the number of commodity ships sailing through totalling seven on Monday.

In comparison, as many as 29 vessels reportedly transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another major waterway, on the same day.

In the Iranian port city Bandar Abbas, home to over 700,000 people, residents are reeling from the pain brought by the US naval blockade and renewed bombings that shook coastal areas in the past week.

Deteriorating purchasing power has brought down much of the workload at local customs-clearing companies and forced families to cut back on everyday expenses.

Meanwhile, Tehran has raised gasoline prices once again for its heaviest users in the latest economic pinch, citing the "current situation."

The government explains the extra money from the increase will be given to households.

Iranians buying more than their quota of 110 litres of gasoline a month now must pay 100,000 rials per litre, or twice as much as they have been paying since December.

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