The US Treasury just put the global shipping industry, and anyone touching digital assets, on notice. Payments made to Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz carry significant sanctions risk, regardless of how those payments are structured.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued the alert on May 1, 2026, covering a surprisingly broad menu of payment types: fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, and even charitable donations to organizations like the Iranian Red Crescent Society or Bonyad Mostazafan. In English: it doesn’t matter if you pay in Bitcoin, barrels of oil, or donations to a foundation. If the money ends up supporting the Iranian regime’s toll system, you’ve got a problem.
What Iran is charging and who’s paying
The backdrop here is that Iran, operating through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been imposing transit tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The fees reportedly run approximately $1 per barrel of oil, which can translate to up to $2 million per vessel.
These payments appear to have started flowing as early as mid-March 2026, with IRGC-affiliated intermediaries collecting fees from shippers navigating the strait.
