Iran says Indian ships exempt from Strait of Hormuz restrictions, urges military to consider Qatar peace proposal

The Iranian government has reiterated that Indian vessels are exempt from restrictions imposed on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, saying ships from India, China, Iraq and Qatar are free to navigate the waterway.

Ahmad Hayat-Moghaddam, vice-chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the exemptions had been granted to the four countries.

“Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, we have already ‘pardoned’ four countries. Right now, India, China, Iraq, and Qatar. They are free, meaning they are free from our point of view,” Hayat-Moghaddam said at a meeting reviewing economic and security conditions.


He said India was granted the exemption to facilitate imports of medicines, while China’s exemption was linked to political support and economic ties.

Meanwhile, senior Iranian political leaders are urging the country's military leadership to consider a Qatari-brokered proposal to prevent a renewed conflict with the United States, Al Arabiya reported.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have advised military leaders to engage constructively with the proposal, according to sources cited by the news outlet.

Qatari envoys recently travelled to Tehran with a limited mandate to obtain Iran’s official response to the proposed framework, rather than hold extended negotiations.

The diplomatic push comes amid internal assessments in Iran that a resumption of direct conflict with the United States is the most likely scenario. However, military strategists remain sceptical about the prospects of maintaining peace and consider a return to confrontation with American forces a primary possibility.

(With ANI inputs)