Middle East — 2026-11-05

Iran Exempts Ships From India, China, Iraq, and Qatar From Strait of Hormuz Restrictions

BLUFTehran's selective Hormuz exemptions signal an effort to fracture any unified international response to its maritime coercion by offering transactional passage to states whose economic or diplomatic support Iran cannot afford to lose.

Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, deputy chairman of Iran's parliamentary national security and foreign policy committee, stated on November 3 that ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar are exempt from Strait of Hormuz transit restrictions and move freely, adding that "the Americans do not intercept them either" 1234. SAFETY4SEA, citing Anadolu, reported he spoke to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) 4. He said the Indian exemption is meant to facilitate medicine imports into Iran and the Chinese exemption to secure Beijing's political support 134. Hayat-Moghaddam said Iran collects transit fees from Indian and Chinese vessels but not from Qatari ones; he did not address Iraqi ships 134. SAFETY4SEA noted that the conditions governing passage have not been independently confirmed through an official government directive 4.

Analysis
Tehran is employing Hormuz access as a bargaining instrument, granting selective passage to buyers and mediators whose goodwill it needs while pressuring everyone else. Each exemption maps to an Iranian interest: medicine from India, political cover from China, and free passage for Qatar, which is mediating a draft agreement with Washington. Non-exempt shipowners gain nothing, and exempt operators still face fees, mines and IRGC fire on unauthorized routes. Since July, Iran has shifted from attacks and warnings to openly describing a tiered regime. The remarks may instead be a lawmaker's political messaging toward Delhi and Beijing, since parliament's committee does not control IRGC Navy transit decisions. Confidence is low: the account comes from one Iranian lawmaker, repeated by four secondary outlets, with no directive, eligibility criteria, fee schedule or shipping data to confirm scope.

4 sources

Iran exempts ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar from Strait of Hormuz restrictions - India TV News
Iran Exempts India, China, Iraq, and Qatar from Strait of Hormuz Restrictions - IranWire
Iran allows Indian ships through Hormuz, exempts 3 other countries - Business Today
Iran says Indian ships exempt from Strait of Hormuz transit restrictions - SAFETY4SEA