Iran Launches Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Requires Ship Clearance and Fees for Hormuz Passage

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced the formation of a new body to manage the Strait of Hormuz, called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), and said it would provide “real-time updates” on operations and developments in the strait.

Euronews said the authority was launched alongside a mechanism under which ships wishing to pass must submit requests via the authority’s official email, after which a crossing permit is granted only after the authority approves the request and the fees are paid.

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Euronews reported that reports indicate some ships have already paid as much as $2 million per crossing, with payments made in Chinese yuan, while it also said no official tariff has yet been published.

Al Jazeera said the announcement came two days after reports surfaced that Iran was planning to provide insurance to ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, with payments settled in cryptocurrency.

Al Jazeera also said the strait is a critical chokepoint through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas pass in peacetime, and it described Iran as having effectively closed the strait in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks.

In a BBC report, President Donald Trump said he halted an attack planned for tomorrow against Iran in response to a request from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, while also threatening the Islamic Republic.

The BBC quoted Trump writing: “I have issued orders to the military to prepare to launch a broad and wide-ranging attack on Iran at any moment, if an acceptable agreement is not reached.”

Al Jazeera

The BBC also reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps signaled a new threat by saying fiber-optic Internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz could be subjected to a “permit system.”

Al Jazeera said Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announcement followed reports that Iran planned to provide insurance for vessels transiting the strait and surrounding Gulf waters, with payments settled in cryptocurrency.

Al Jazeera added that Negar Mortazavi said one rationale for maintaining control of the strait is that if it is attacked in another illegal war, Iran wants to be able to “use this leverage card if needed”.

Iran’s approach to the Strait of Hormuz is also being framed as selective access, with Folha de S.Paulo reporting that Iran is drawing up a protocol to allow passage of ships through the strait but that vessels from the United States, Israel, and countries that supported the war will not be able to sail through the maritime route.

Folha de S.Paulo quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying, “We are working on a protocol, a mechanism to ensure that safe passage is guaranteed and, at the same time, Iran's security concerns are properly considered.”

The BBC reported that Reuters described Iran’s new proposal as focusing on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting maritime sanctions, while more controversial issues such as the nuclear program and uranium enrichment were postponed to later rounds of talks.

Al Jazeera said the US Department of State has stated that international waterways must remain open to global shipping and that no country should impose unilateral tolls on transit passage.

Euronews said the United States, Gulf states, and European countries have rejected the legitimacy of the fee system Tehran seeks to impose, stressing that freedom of navigation through the strait should remain without additional fees or restrictions.