War in the Middle East: Thailand reaches an agreement with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, an oil tanker has already crossed it

“Thailand will inform Iran in advance of any ship crossing the strait and Iran will respond accordingly,” explained the Thai Prime Minister, who tried this Saturday to reassure his population about the fuel supply difficulties caused by the conflict.

Thailand said this Saturday, March 28, that it had reached an agreement with Iran to allow the “safe” passage of its oil ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been virtually paralyzed since the start of the war in the Middle East.

This will help “to ease concerns about the delivery of fuel to Thailand,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at a press conference. “With this agreement, we are confident that we will no longer have to experience disruptions like those observed at the beginning of March,” he added.

Thailand has argued to Iran that it is “not a party to the conflict and has the right to safe maritime passage under international law”, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.

“Under the current mechanism, Thailand will inform Iran in advance of any ship crossing the strait and Iran will respond accordingly,” he detailed, specifying that a Thai tanker had already passed through the strait thanks to this agreement and that others were preparing to do so.

The countries of Southeast Asia are bearing the brunt of fuel supply difficulties caused by the war in the Middle East, launched a month ago by Israel and the United States.

The Prime Minister apologizes

After initially being capped at 30 baht (0.79 euros) per liter by the government, the price of diesel increased this week by 6 baht per liter in Thailand. Shortages and queues are becoming more and more common at gas stations.

“I would like to apologize to the population for the disruption caused by the management of fuel prices during the first half of March,” the Prime Minister said. “We thought at the beginning that the conflict would be short-lived. It is now clear that the situation has changed and is likely to continue,” he continued.

The recently re-elected prime minister urged Thais not to panic, saying the country of 65 million people had sufficient fuel reserves.

Thai ship hit at start of conflict

A Thai merchant ship, the Mayuree Naree, was attacked by Iran on March 11 while sailing in the Strait of Hormuz. Three of its sailors are still missing.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced Friday that they had forced three container ships to turn around in the strait, specifying that this strategic route was now closed to ships coming from or destined for ports linked to the “enemy”. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell 95% compared to normal between March 1 and 26, according to maritime tracking platform Kpler.

Since the start of the month, 24 commercial vessels, including 11 oil tankers, have been attacked or reported incidents in the region, according to the British maritime security agency UKMTO.