US Sanctions Iran’s Gulf Authority Over Hormuz Traffic Management – “An Attempt To Blackmail Global Maritime…” | Today’s news
The United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s Persian Gulf Straits Authority (PGSA) on Wednesday (local time), accusing Tehran of using the body to “blackmail” commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and “direct” the revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The move, announced by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), adds PGSA to the Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as part of US President Trump’s administration’s intensified “Economic Fury” campaign to increase pressure on Iran amid ongoing regional tensions.
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According to the Treasury Department, the PGSA was established by Iran to handle the demands of ships trying to pass through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. US officials have alleged that the agency works closely with the IRGC and the IRGC Navy to control shipping and impose “unauthorized tolls” on international maritime trade.
“The latest attempt by the Iranian military to extort global maritime trade is evidence that Economic Fury has left a regime desperate for money,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“Through Economic Fury, the United States has placed financial pressure on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Treasury Department has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue from its weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will remain relentless in our efforts to curtail the web of man-made vessels, intermediaries, and buyers through which Iran exports oil and buyers.” Bessent added.
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The Treasury Department said vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz were required to submit information to the PGSA and follow Iranian-designated navigation routes near the Iranian coast in exchange for “permission” for safe passage.
Washington further warned that companies or ship operators that comply with Iran’s demands for passage fees “including payments made through fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps or other in-kind payments such as nominal charitable donations” could face US sanctions.
The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order (EO) 13224, the counterterrorism authority used by the United States to target entities accused of providing material support to designated terrorist organizations. The Treasury Department said the PGSA was intended to “materially assist, sponsor or provide financial, material or technological support” to the IRGC.
According to the release, the latest measures expand the administration’s broader campaign of maximum pressure against Tehran, which the Treasury Department said has already targeted “Tehran’s global shadow banking networks; designated networks supplying Iran with weapons and other military components; sanctioned a corrupt Iraqi official who brokered oil sales along with Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq” and “conducted numerous terrorist actions targeting Iranian companies.” and their hosts; other entities that sustain Iran’s illicit oil industry.”
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Earlier on May 21, the newly established Persian Gulf Straits Authority (PGSA) defined the boundaries of the area of supervision over the administration of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, PGSA said the surveillance area starts from a line connecting Kuh Mobarak in Iran and south Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates in the east of the Strait of Hormuz to a line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm al-Qaiwain in the UAE in the west of the Strait of Hormuz.
The governing body said: “Frequencies in this range for passage through the Strait of Hormuz require coordination with the Gulf Waterways Authority and permission from that entity.”
Meanwhile, on May 18, Iran announced the launch of a new regulatory body aimed at managing and monitoring operations related to the strategically important waterway, the Strait of Hormuz.
The Islamic Republic’s top security institution, the Supreme National Security Council, has reposted a post on X saying that the official X account of the “Persian Gulf Straits Authority” (PGSA) is now functional.
The announcement signaled the formal establishment of a specialized body overseeing the development and operations associated with the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime trade routes for global oil and energy supplies. (OR)
