WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Government has imposed sanctions on Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an Iranian government agency responsible for the authorization and regulation of maritime transit through Iranian waters.
It was launched on May 5 as the U.S. warships entered the Strait of Hormuz to enforce blockade of Iranian ports.
After the U.S. attacked Iran, Iran declared that vessels would be required to pay for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. By charging tolls for transiting the international waterway, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps guarantees ships will not be openly attacked.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control called Persian Gulf Strait Authority 'a new attempt by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to monetize its campaign of state-sponsored terror by extorting vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz'. 'This entity spearheads an Iranian-controlled scheme that flagrantly violates international law and U.S. sanctions. Anyone cooperating with the so-called strait authority may be providing support to and receiving services from the IRGC, which ultimately benefits from this attempted extortion, and may therefore be exposed to sanctions risk,' OFAC added.
'The Iranian military's latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,' said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. The United States has imposed a financial stranglehold on Iran after launching military operations, codenamed 'Operation Epic Fury', on February 28.
Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions. 'Under President Trump's leadership, we will remain relentless in our pursuit to constrict the network of vessels, intermediaries, and buyers through which Iran exports both its oil and malevolence,' Bessant said.
Earlier this month, the Treasury had issued a guidance warning of the sanctions risk for complying with Iranian demands for passage through the Strait of Hormuz such as toll payments, including payments made via fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments such as nominally charitable donations, and providing sensitive vessel information.
U.S. persons and U.S.-owned or controlled foreign entities are prohibited under U.S. sanctions from engaging in transactions with the Government of Iran, including the provision or receipt of services, unless exempt or authorized by OFAC. U.S. sanctions also generally prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Meanwhile, Iran's Mehr News Agency said on Wednesday that 23 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz under the Iranian Navy's 'security protection' over the past 24 hours. IRGC warned that 'vessels belonging to 'hostile countries' are prohibited from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.'
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