Washington DC [US], May 29: Washington The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a regulatory body recently established by Tehran to oversee shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The entity, known as the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, "spearheads an Iranian-controlled scheme that flagrantly violates international law and U.S. sanctions," the treasury said in a Wednesday statement.
The department said that "anyone cooperating with the so-called strait authority" may be exposed to sanctions as they "may be providing support to and receiving services" from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), "which ultimately benefits from this attempted extortion." The Iranian leadership established the body earlier in the month to oversee shipping traffic in the strait, which is vital for energy trade, following the outbreak of the war in late February. Shortly after the war began, Iran's armed forces took control of the waterway. Threats, inspections and attacks on ships brought traffic in the strait largely to a standstill, leading to a significant rise in energy and fuel prices worldwide. Tehran consistently emphasises that the Strait of Hormuz is not blocked. In reality, however, shipping companies must coordinate with Iranian contact points and are subsequently only permitted to pass through a corridor close to the Iranian coast. The Iranian leadership reportedly demands high fees for this. Western governments and Gulf states, as well as shipping companies, oppose Iran's toll plans. Shipowners who rely on access to Western markets and transactions in US dollars are now even less likely to agree to toll payments to the agency due to the sanctions.
Source: Qatar Tribune