US warns shippers of sanctions over paying tolls to Iran for Hormuz passage

The US Treasury has warned shippers that payments to Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz could invite sanctions. The risk applies even to indirect or nominally charitable transfers as Washington tightens pressure on Tehran.

In Short

• Hormuz handles 20% of global crude oil and LNG shipments
• Payments via charities or indirect methods also to be sanctioned
• Iran proposes tolls as part of peace talks with the US and Israel

Any shipper paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organisations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, is at risk of punitive sanctions, the US Treasury warned on Friday.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime routes, with about 20 percent of the world’s seaborne crude oil and liquefied natural gas flows passing through it.

Tehran has proposed fees or tolls on vessels passing through the Strait, as part of proposals to end the war with Israel and the United States.

The advisory, from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the US is aware of Iranian demands for payments to receive safe passage through the Strait.

OFAC advised companies this week that paying the tolls puts them at risk, but clarified on Friday that payments disguised through charity or indirect payments are not allowed.

Treasury did not offer Reuters details on any countries or companies that have made such indirect payments. There have been reports of at least one payment of USD 2 million having been made for a vessel to traverse the Strait.

The warning came as Iran sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to Pakistani mediators, a move that could improve prospects for breaking an impasse in efforts to end the Iran war.

OFAC said demands may include several payment options, including fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments, such as nominally charitable donations made to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan, or Iranian embassy accounts.

"OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage," it said. "These risks exist regardless of payment method."

OFAC also imposed fresh sanctions on what it said are three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses, saying they facilitate billions of dollars in transactions annually, and their associated front companies.

The office also imposed Iran-related sanctions on the Panama-flagged NEW FUSION oil products tanker. "We will relentlessly target the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran’s attempts to evade sanctions,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Analysts have long said that China, Iran's largest buyer of oil, will continue to buy petroleum until the US imposes sanctions on its banks. Such a move, however, could damage the Washington-Beijing relationship.

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