Japan Says It Did Not Pay Iran Toll for Tanker Passage Through Strait of Hormuz

TOKYO, April 29. /TASS/. Japanese authorities did not pay Tehran for the passage of the tanker Idemitsu Maru through the Strait of Hormuz. This was reported by the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei. According to the publication's sources in the Japanese government, the vessel's passage became possible as a result of negotiations between the authorities and the Iranian side. "This is the result of negotiations conducted by the Japanese government. We did not pay any toll for the [tanker's] passage," a senior government official was quoted as saying. Earlier, Tasnim reported that the Japanese tanker Idemitsu Maru went through the Strait of Hormuz with Iran's facilitation. According to the agency, the tanker owned by Japanese refining company Idemitsu Kosan with two million oil barrels on board was off the Saudi Arabian coast since late February. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack. Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to vessels associated with the United States, Israel, and countries that supported aggression against the Islamic Republic. During the conflict, several tankers were attacked for passing through the strait without Tehran's permission. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had allowed friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan, to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.