Iran says it is receptive to any request from Spain, alluding to Hormuz transit

• Summary

• Iran has said ‘non hostile vessels’ can transit strait

• Spain has only small number of oil and gas tankers

• Ship tracking data shows none currently in the Gulf

MADRID, March 26 (Reuters) - The Iranian embassy in Spain said on Thursday that ‌Iran would be receptive to any request from Madrid related to the Strait of Hormuz because Spain respects international law, in what is the first such concession offered to an EU state.

Spain has a relatively small merchant fleet but was among the first countries to condemn the U.S.-Israeli attacks on ​Iran, denouncing the war as reckless and illegal.

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“BREAKING NEWS: Iran considers Spain a country committed to international law, so ​it shows receptiveness to any request coming from Madrid.#StraitofHormuz,” the Iranian embassy said in a post ⁠on X.

The post follows a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday to the United Nations from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign ​Affairs stating that “non-hostile vessels” could transit the strait if they coordinated with Iranian authorities.

OIL SUPPLY DISRUPTION

The war against Iran has all but halted ​shipments of about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas through the strait, causing oil supply disruption.

A Thai oil tanker has safely sailed through the strait following diplomatic coordination between Thailand and Iran, and Malaysia’s prime minister said on Thursday Malaysian vessels were also being allowed ​to pass through, in a sign that restrictions were loosening for some countries following diplomatic negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on ​Thursday that Iran let 10 oil tankers transit the strait as a goodwill gesture in negotiations, including some Pakistan-flagged vessels.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel ‌Albares said ⁠on Thursday he did not understand what Iran was referring to in its post on X. He said Spain had consistently voted in favour of sanctions against Iran, including naming the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.

“What we ask of Iran and all of those participating and promoting the war is de-escalation, diplomacy and negotiation, and that Iran ceases its unjustified attacks against all ​the countries in the Middle ​East,” Albares said during a ⁠visit to Algeria.

SIZE OF SPANISH FLEET

Last year, the Spanish-flagged merchant shipping fleet reached its lowest level in two decades.

Spain had 91 vessels, of which six were oil tankers and 13 were ​gas carriers, as of June 2025, according to the latest report published by the Spanish ​Shipowners’ Association. The ⁠majority of the 205 merchant vessels controlled by Spanish shipowners fly foreign flags.

Ten of the Spanish-flagged tankers were on voyages, mainly around the Mediterranean and Europe with none inside the Gulf, ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Thursday.

Only three of them would ⁠meet the ​vetting standards of oil majors, which usually stipulate they must be less ​than 15 years old, according to Reuters analysis of shipping data.

The Iranian embassy was not immediately available to provide further details.

Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Additional reporting ​by Corina Rodriguez and Jonathan Saul in London, Writing by Emma Pinedo and Charlie Devereux; Editing by Aislinn Laing and Alison Williams

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Victoria Waldersee

Thomson Reuters

Victoria Waldersee is a Senior Politics & Economics Correspondent in Madrid, Spain. A BA Chinese & Economics graduate, she covered Germany’s auto industry from Berlin for four years, focusing on competition with China amid the transition to EVs. She began her career at Reuters as a correspondent in Portugal and was seconded to the retail beat in 2021 to cover the retail sector in South Asia, China and Europe. Before Reuters, she co-founded and ran Economy, a UK-based charity working to produce accessible economics coverage.

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