A secret bill, several committees, a single text and a final decision – all of this will determine the future of one of the world’s most tense flashpoints As reported by CCTV+, the bill on the management of the Strait of Hormuz has been referred to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for review. After final decisions are made, it will be submitted to parliament for discussion and voting, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday.

Details of the bill’s content have not been disclosed. Work on the bill has been underway for some time. In addition to parliamentary review, several specialised parliamentary committees, including the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, the Construction Committee and the Councils and Internal Affairs Committee, have participated in studying and evaluating the proposal.

The committees and several deputies had previously submitted separate proposals and drafts. After a process of coordination and alignment, a single text has been prepared and awaits further consideration.

Note: The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea passage between Iran and Oman through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. Any legislative regulation here has global significance.

Iran is preparing a law. Not for the public – only for the Security Council for now. Details are secret. But one thing is clear: the strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows cannot remain without rules. Tehran wants to set those rules itself. Parliamentary committees have already studied the proposals.

Several drafts have been merged into a single text. Now the floor goes to the Supreme Council. The question is not whether the law will be passed. It will. The question is how the world will react. And what will happen when the ships that are now anchored try to pass through the strait under new rules. Silence in the corridors of power is sometimes louder than gunfire.