The UK wants the Strait of Hormuz open for business. No tolls, no fees, no strings attached.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for a rapid conclusion to US-Iran negotiations aimed at restoring unconditional passage through the narrow waterway that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil shipments. The push comes as Iran develops a Bitcoin-based platform for collecting maritime transit fees, a move that could inject billions into BTC’s real-world utility story while simultaneously complicating one of the most sensitive geopolitical corridors on the planet.
The chokepoint that moves the world
The Strait of Hormuz is a bottleneck between Iran and Oman, and one-fifth of global oil supply passes through it every day. Disruptions in the strait pushed oil prices past $100 per barrel in early 2026.
Starmer’s position is straightforward: get a deal done, get the waterway fully reopened, and eliminate any mechanism that could be used to restrict or tax passage. The “without tolls” language is aimed directly at Iran’s emerging plan to monetize its geographic leverage.
