Iran Controls Strait of Hormuz Post-Ceasefire as Toll Booths Spark Global Outcry

Iran continues to exercise effective control over the Strait of Hormuz despite the ceasefire.

Iran's Foreign Minister declared vessels must coordinate directly with Iranian armed forces, subject to technical limitations.

Al Jazeera

Iran has rerouted commercial shipping through Iranian territorial waters and imposed a $2 million transit fee.

Trump pledged the US will help with traffic buildup but it remains far from certain whether US forces will play any role.

The de facto blockade and toll regime sent shockwaves through global markets.

Oil prices rose 2.8% to $96.99 a barrel.

Al Jazeera

More than 1,000 ocean-going vessels remain trapped within the Persian Gulf.

The blockade disrupted about one-third of the global fertilizer trade and one-fifth of global oil and LNG cargoes.

The toll-collecting arrangement defies the core principle of freedom of navigation.

PBS noted it would cement the Islamic Republic's control over the strait and enrich the military.

El Mundo compared Iran's toll regime to 17th-century pirate Henry Morgan's informal toll system.

Trump's ceasefire deal explicitly recognizes Iran's authority to control and secure navigation.

Iran's power derives from its control over the most important energy choke point.

Strait of Hormuz supplies roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG.

BBC

There are no real alternatives to these supply routes in the near term.

If control persists, it could drastically reshape the global order.