US threatens shipping firms with sanctions if they pay Iran tolls

The US has warned shipping companies that they could face sanctions if they pay Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

A warning from authorities on Friday US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warned U.S. individuals and companies are generally prohibited from making payments to Iranian government institutions, and non-U.S. individuals may risk sanctions if they make payments.

“Maritime industry participants dealing with vessels calling at Iranian ports face significant risk of sanctions under multiple sanctions authorities targeting Iran’s maritime industry and ports,” OFAC said.

Iran has severely limited traffic in the strait since the war began in February. The United States also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Iran described the US’s stopping of ships entering and leaving Iranian ports under blockade as “piracy”.

While Tehran said it collected toll fees from ships to pass freely through the strait, the deputy speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Hamidriza Haji Bababei, claimed last week that the first toll revenue was deposited in the country’s Central Bank.

No further details were given about the amount of the toll, the method of collection and who paid it. The BBC was unable to independently verify this claim.

Payments may include cash as well as “digital assets, offsets, informal exchanges, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC’s warning said.

The agency warned that non-U.S. payers could also face civil and criminal liability if the payments cause U.S. persons, such as insurance companies and financial institutions, to violate sanctions.

OFAC said it would “continue to aggressively target Iran’s key revenue-generating sectors, particularly its oil and petrochemical sectors.”

The U.S. Treasury also announced sanctions on Friday against three Iranian currency exchanges, saying they converted oil revenues into more usable currencies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his agency would “ruthlessly target the regime’s ability to generate, move and repatriate funds and pursue anyone who allows Tehran to evade sanctions.”

After the USA and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, Iran was targeting and hitting ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. captured two of them.

The USA has also imposed a naval blockade since April 13, stopping all ships from traveling to and from Iranian ports. Trump hoped the blockade would put pressure on Iran by targeting Iran’s revenue from tolls and oil sales.

US Central Command (Centcom) said on Friday that 45 merchant ships have been told to return since the blockade began.

Approximately 3,000 ships pass through the strait every month, but this number is rapidly decreasing to just a handful of ships each day.

The Bosphorus is an important shipping channel for oil and other goods, including food, medicine and technological materials.

The closure of key sea lanes has led to longer and more expensive alternatives to transport aid, UNHCR, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said on Friday.

The agency said rising transportation and fuel costs “disproportionately impact people in emergencies,” including refugees and displaced people.

The cost of delivering aid to Sudan, which is entering its fourth year of war, has doubled in recent months as the rerouting of shipments around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa increased delivery times to 25 days.

The UN agency said it was adapting quickly by rerouting sea cargo and relying more on land corridors. However, it warned that “if instability in the Middle East continues, increasing costs, delays and limited transportation capacity may further restrict humanitarian operations.”

The United States and Iran initiated a fragile ceasefire on April 8. Since then, the two countries have held talks but no long-term agreement was reached.

Iran made an offer to end the war to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. However, US President Donald Trump responded negatively to this offer.

“They want to make a deal, I’m not excited, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday.

He added: “Because they actually have no army left. I’m not sure they can get there.”

The president, who did not give detailed information about the offer or explain why he was not satisfied, said, “They want things that I cannot accept.”

He also expressed frustration with Iran’s leadership, saying: “It’s a very disjointed leadership. They all want to make deals, but they’re all screwed.”

After Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli attacks on the first day of the war, his son Mojtaba Khamenei took over. But don’t decide seems less central than before the war.

Trump on Thursday said he had been briefed on options for Iran, ranging from “blow them up and finish them off forever” to “make a deal.”

The conflict began after large-scale attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran in February. Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.

The United States and Israel claim that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, which Tehran vehemently denies.