Iran Plans to Limit Ship Crossings in Strait of Hormuz

(MENAFN) Iran is moving to drastically restrict vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to roughly a dozen ships per day while imposing mandatory transit fees, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday — a seismic shift that has sent alarm through global energy markets.

According to the WSJ, ships seeking passage through the world's most critical oil shipping chokepoint must now pre-arrange toll payments directly with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with accepted currencies limited to cryptocurrency or the Chinese yuan.

The scale of the clampdown is stark. Prior to the war, more than 100 vessels transited the strait daily with zero coordination required with Iranian authorities. On Wednesday alone, only four ships were permitted through — the lowest figure recorded in April — according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data cited by the WSJ.

The strait serves as the conduit for roughly 20% of the world's daily oil supply, and the new arrangements have triggered deep unease among Gulf energy producers and import-dependent nations that rely on the waterway as a lifeline for fuel.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the emerging toll regime as both illegal and dangerous, though he suggested that nations most reliant on the strait should spearhead any coordinated international resistance.

The strategic weight Tehran now places on the waterway was underscored by Danny Citrinowicz, a former senior official in Israeli defense intelligence, who told the Journal: "The Strait of Hormuz has definitely become as important as the missiles and the nuclear program for them."

"For them, control is a must," he further noted.

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