US sanctions Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority over Hormuz traffic control

Washington DC [US], May 28 (ANI): The United States on Wednesday (local time) imposed sanctions on Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), accusing Tehran of using the body to "extort" commercial vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz and "funnelling" revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The move, announced by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), adds the PGSA to the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list as part of the US President Trump's administration's intensified "Economic Fury" campaign aimed at increasing pressure on Iran amid ongoing regional tensions.
According to the Treasury Department, the PGSA was established by Iran to manage requests from ships seeking passage through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. US officials alleged the authority works closely with the IRGC and the IRGC Navy to direct vessel traffic and impose "illegitimate tolls" on international maritime commerce.
"The Iranian military's latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, according to the official release.
"Through Economic Fury, the United States has imposed a financial stranglehold on the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. 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." Bessent added.
The Treasury Department said vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz were being required to submit information to the PGSA and comply with Iranian-designated navigation routes near Iran's coastline in exchange for "permission" for safe passage.
Washington further warned that companies or ship operators complying with Iranian demands for passage fees, " including payments made via fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments such as nominally charitable donations," could face US sanctions exposure.
The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, a counter, a counterterrorism authority used by the United States to target entities accused of materially supporting designated terrorist organisations. The Treasury Department said the PGSA was designated for "having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for" the IRGC.
According to the release, the latest measures expand the administration's broader maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, which the Treasury Department said has already targeted "Tehran's global shadow banking networks; designated networks supplying weapons and other military components to Iran; sanctioned a corrupt Iraqi official who has facilitated the sale of oil along with Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq" and "taken numerous actions against Iran's terrorist proxies; and targeted shadow fleet vessels, companies, and other entities that sustain Iran's illicit oil industry."
Earlier on May 21, the newly-launched Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) defined the boundaries of the Strait of Hormuz management supervision area.
In a post on X, PGSA stated that the supervision area starts from the line connecting Kuh Mobarak in Iran and the south of Fujairah in the UAE in the east of the Strait of Hormuz, to the 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 management body said, "Frequencies in this range for passing through the Strait of Hormuz require coordination with the Persian Gulf Waterway Management and a permit from this 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 top security establishment of the Islamic Republic, the Supreme National Security Council, reposted a post on X where it stated that the official X account of the "Persian Gulf Strait Authority" (PGSA) is now operational.
The announcement signalled the formal establishment of a dedicated body overseeing developments and operations linked to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical maritime trade routes for global oil and energy shipments. (ANI)