Iran has officially agreed to grant safe passage to Bangladeshi oil and LNG ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Middle East Monitor has reported.

As per the new deal, Bangladeshi ships need to inform Iranian authorities before entering the Strait of Hormuz to ensure secure passage. The move comes as the Bangladesh authorities boost efforts to stabilise the supply of fuel in the local market, Middle East Monitor said in a post on social media platform X.

A consignment of 27,000 tonnes of diesel recently docked at Chattogram port in Bangladesh, with four more vessels like to arrive soon. Bangladesh is also planning to source 300,000 tonnes of diesel from other sources to meet energy demand in April.

Local Bangladeshi media has not confirmed this news. New Age reported on March 13 that Dhaka has sought safe passage for its vessels. Energy, power and mineral resources minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud on March 12 said that they were expecting a positive reply from Tehran soon in this regard. This has been not been greenlit by Tehran yet, the newspaper reported.

Bangladesh, which imports about 6.2mn tonnes of crude and refined petroleum products, relies heavily on the Strait directly and indirectly, New Age added.

It imports about 1mn tonnes of crude oils from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates while 5.2mn tonnes of refined petroleum oils from China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has formally requested the United States grant a temporary waiver that would allow it to buy crude oil from Russia, saying this was needed to maintain stable energy supplies in the domestic market, The Daily Star reported.

Dhaka wants an arrangement similar to the one extended to India, which has been allowed to continue importing Russian crude under a temporary waiver despite Western sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine.

Bangladesh’s finance and planning minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury confirmed that the matter was raised during discussions with US officials.

Dhaka says that access to discounted Russian crude could help ease pressure on its foreign exchange reserves and stabilise domestic fuel supplies. The government has said the request reflects the need to protect economic stability at a time of volatile global energy markets.

During the meeting with the US ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent Christensen, Bangladeshi officials noted that India had already been granted a temporary exemption to continue purchasing Russian oil, and said Bangladesh should be considered for a similar arrangement.

According to the report, US officials indicated that the request would be conveyed to authorities in Washington for consideration. Dhaka is now awaiting a response from the US administration on whether such a waiver could be granted.