The United States Treasury announced sanctions Wednesday against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Tehran’s new agency that collects fees for traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement.
The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, because they “may be providing support to and receiving services from” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may “be exposed to sanctions risk.”
“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.
The statement said the US has succeeded in disrupting “tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible” to Tehran.
In a post to X on May 20, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority issued a map to define its “regulatory jurisdiction,” demarcating red lines on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz that require Iran’s authorization for passage.
US and Iranian forces have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, but Iran’s controls have tightened on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US has launched strikes on Iranian targets in recent days.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday that Tehran will continue to manage traffic through the strategic Strait fo Hormuz — through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas transits — and insisted Iran is collecting fees for “navigational services,” rather than imposing tolls.
The war began after the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic republic on February 28, and saw Iran respond with missile and drone attacks across the region.
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