AFP, Paris

Iran’s imposition of a toll for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz looks set to be a key point of contention at talks opening in Pakistan.

While Iran agreed to reopen the thoroughfare during the two-week truce with the United States, it has also spoken of a toll system to fund reconstruction following punishing US-Israeli attacks.

The European Union was quick to denounce the idea Thursday. Bloomberg News has reported that shipping companies would be expected to pay up to $2 million per vessel.

The Financial Times said the price to pay would be a dollar a barrel of oil, paid in crypto-currency or yuan, China’s currency.

One of the points on the 10-point plan for ending the war that Iran sent to Washington was that Tehran would maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Paying a toll legitimises Iran’s coercion and sets a precedent under international law that other regimes may want to pursue,” wrote Guntram Wolff, senior researcher at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank.

Trump has suggested that the US and Iran could run the system in a “joint venture”.

Hormuz has become “more important for Iran than enriched uranium”, Amir Handjari, an analyst with the US Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told AFP.

“That’s the real security guarantee to prevent Israeli and US attacks in the future,” he argued.