The United States Treasury has slapped sanctions on Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Tehran’s new body for collecting tolls for passage through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
“Today’s Iranian military attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement today.
The statement broadened the danger of penalties to anyone paying the payments since they “may be providing support to and receiving services from” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may “be exposed to sanctions risk.”
Treasury has cut off income for the Iranian regime’s weapons projects, terrorist proxies and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.
The statement stated the U.S. has successfully disrupted “tens of billions of dollars of revenue from being available” to Tehran.
On May 20, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority published a map on X defining its “regulatory jurisdiction” with red lines drawn on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, requiring Iran’s authorization to pass.
While diplomats are working on a negotiated settlement, US and Iranian forces have been observing a ceasefire since April 8; however Iran has stepped up its hold on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and the US has carried out strikes on Iranian targets in recent days.
Iran will continue to deal with traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz – through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas passes – and says it is charging fees for “navigational services”, not tolls, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday.
The war erupted on Feb. 28 after the United States and Israel bombed the Islamic Republic, which retaliated with missile and drone strikes throughout the area.
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