Iran's Hormuz authority claims control of waters south of UAE port

TEHRAN, May 21 (AFP): Iran's new body overseeing the Strait of Hormuz has said its claimed area of control extends to waters south of the United Arab Emirates' port of Fujairah, which hosts oil infrastructure designed to bypass the strategic waterway.
Traffic through Hormuz -- a vital global shipping conduit -- has come under Iranian control since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on February 28.
Iran, which has effectively closed the strait since the war and is seeking to charge ships for passage, has insisted that vessels transiting the waterway must obtain permission from the Iranian armed forces.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority said on Wednesday it had outlined "the regulatory jurisdiction for the management" of the strait.
It said this covered the area between the line extending from "Kuh-e Mubarak in Iran to the south of Fujairah in the UAE... to the line connecting the tip of Qeshm island in Iran to Umm Al-Quwain in the UAE".