US warns shipping firms could face sanctions for paying Iran tolls in Strait of Hormuz
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The United States is warning shipping companies that they may face sanctions for paying Iran to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.
The warning sent on Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another level of pressure between the US and Iran in controlling the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world’s trade in oil and natural gas normally passes through the Persian Gulf strait during peacetime.
Iran effectively blocked access to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel went to war in Feb. 28. Later it began to provide safe passage to other ships by diverting them through other routes near its coast, charging fees at times for the service.
That “tollbooth” effort is the essence of the US sanctions warning.
Payment requirements can include transfers not only of cash but also of “digital assets, offsets, informal exchanges, or other payments of some kind,” including charitable donations and payments to Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for an end to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz so that vital humanitarian aid can pass, as NGOs are forced to find slower, alternative routes.
“OFAC is issuing this warning to warn US and non-US persons about the risks of sanctions for making these payments, or requesting assurances from the Iranian government for their safe passage. These risks exist regardless of the payment method,” it said.
The US responded to Iran’s closure of the strait with a naval blockade on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of the oil revenues it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
US Central Command said 45 commercial vessels have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iran proposal
The warning came as US President Donald Trump quickly rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He did not elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings, but expressed frustration with Iran’s leadership.
“Very inconsistent leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
Iran’s IRNA news agency reported that Iran submitted its plan to Pakistani negotiators on Thursday night.
The three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, despite both countries trading alleged violations. The conflict is increasingly putting pressure on the world economy, raising prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other related products.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused ‘the biggest threat to energy security in history,’ said Fatih Birol, director general of the International Energy Agency. Ryan Cummings of the Stanford Institute for Economy Policymaking says the shutdown so far is equivalent to a billion barrels of oil out of the economy.
The talks continued by phone after Trump suspended his delegation’s trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week submitted a new plan to reopen a critical route used by America’s Gulf allies to ship their oil and gas.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has informed many of his regional counterparts about the country’s plans to end the war, according to his social media account. He also held talks on Friday with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who liaises with the EU’s partners in the Gulf.
Iran hangs two men accused of being Israeli spies
Iran on Saturday said it had hanged two men convicted of being spies for Israel.
Iran’s judiciary news agency, Mizanonline, identified the men as Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh. It said they were hanged after the Supreme Court of the country had earlier issued the death sentence.
The source said Karimpour was accused of sending “sensitive information” to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, while Bekrzadeh was said to have sent information about the government and religious leaders as well as information about Natanz. The city in central Iran is home to a nuclear enrichment facility that was blown up by Israel and the US last year.
Iran has executed more than a dozen people for alleged espionage and acts of terrorism in recent weeks.
Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Friday that maintaining peace is “a matter of great urgency,” and bringing the parties together to continue honest negotiations “to ensure that Hormuz is put down.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed that the cause of great suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing chaos in the world economy, especially in developing countries, is “the illegal war of the US and Israel.”
