What you need to know

• Iran won't reopen Strait of Hormuz until US meets its demands to end war
• Tehran says ships will be expected to pay for transit through the narrow waterway

Keep reading for the latest developments in the war in Iran and wider conflict in the Middle East from Monday, August 10.

Tehran: Ships will be expected to pay for transit through the narrow waterway

Iran has said it intends to charge commercial vessels for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement Monday from the Foreign Ministry.

Iranian media cited spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as saying that Iran was working with Oman on "mechanisms for monitoring security, protecting the environment and combating crime at sea."

Fees would be for maritime services provided to ships, he explained.

The dispute over transit rights in the strait, through which some 20% of the world's oil passed before the war and which is a key route for gas and fertilizer, is regarded as a key reason behind the continuation of the war against Iran.

Before the United States and Israel launched the conflict against Iran at the end of February, shipping through the waterway did no incur tolls nor fees for transit.

The Strait of Hormuz measures only around 39 kilometers (24 miles) at its narrowest point.

Since Iran and Oman each claim the maximum 12 nautical miles allowed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as their territorial waters, there are no international waters in the narrowest part of the roughly 21-nautical-mile-wide strait.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees a right of transit passage and prohibits a blockade of commercial vessels. Iran, however, does not accept this legal position.

The US goal is to restore pre-war levels of oil and gas transit through the Strait of Hormuz, US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday.

Welcome to our coverage

Hello from the DW newsroom in Bonn, Germany, and to our coverage of the war in Iran and developments from across the Middle East.

One issue we'll be looking at today is a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry that it intends to charge commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with a still-unreached agreement with Oman on the future management of the narrow waterway.