Iran and Oman are moving ahead with plans to jointly impose service fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply. The US has objected, but that hasn’t slowed the effort.
Here’s what makes this a crypto story: Iran has reportedly been collecting transit tolls payable in bitcoin, USDT, or Chinese yuan through intermediaries linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It’s sanctions evasion at sovereign scale.
What’s happening in the strait
The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing an Iranian official and four diplomats, that the two Gulf nations are coordinating on a fee structure for commercial vessels transiting the strait. Oman has reportedly proposed voluntary navigation fees to the US and its allies, while Iran has long sought to monetize the chokepoint it partially controls.
This runs directly counter to a 14-point agreement the US and Iran signed earlier this month. That deal explicitly stipulates “the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge” through the Strait of Hormuz. But there’s a catch: the provision only holds during a 60-day negotiation window. After that, everything is back on the table.
