US Bars Citizens From Any Dealings With Iran for Strait of Hormuz Transit

The US government has barred Americans from making any arrangements with Iran to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, whether or not a toll is paid.

Bloomberg reported on May 29 that the Treasury Department said in a statement that US persons are prohibited from using any services provided by the Iranian government, including safe-passage services, regardless of whether a transit fee is paid.

The measure bans not only paying transit fees to the Iranian government to use the strait, but also communicating with Tehran to obtain security guarantees for passage. The move suggests Washington does not recognize Iran's authority over the waterway.

Iran had effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments, after the war with the US began. It later created an agency called the Persian Gulf Strait Administration, or PGSA, ostensibly to manage traffic through the strait, and was reported to be seeking tolls of as much as $2 million per vessel.

Ships from allied or friendly countries have at times been allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on an exceptional basis after consultations. Bloomberg said about a quarter of the large non-Iranian tankers recently trapped inside the Persian Gulf had managed to exit through the strait that way.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control added Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Administration and all individuals and entities cooperating with it to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list.

Park Su-rim, Hankyung.com reporter paksr365@hankyung.com