Iran is about to start charging ships for the privilege of sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handles roughly 21% of the world’s oil trade.
The fees, announced in late June 2026, will kick in after a 60-day toll-free grace period ends around mid-August 2026. That grace period stems from a post-conflict memorandum with the United States, which essentially gave the shipping industry a brief window to adjust before the meter starts running.
What Iran says the fees are for
Iranian officials have been careful not to call these “tolls.” Ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli framed the charges as service fees covering navigation security, vessel monitoring, and environmental management in the strait.
The initiative was developed in coordination with Oman, which shares control of the strait.
