The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Iranian firms on Wednesday — HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority and the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company — that it says force commercial vessels to buy mandatory "insurance" to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with HormuzSafe accepting Bitcoin and other digital assets to sidestep sanctions.
The designations, announced in a press release, target what Treasury describes as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed scheme in which the coverage protects vessels against risks — such as seizures — that Iran itself creates. Both firms were designated under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran's financial, petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
"With its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release. "The United States will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC's terrorism, aggression, and repression."
HormuzSafe, which Treasury says was developed by Iran's Ministry of Economy, advertises itself as a digital insurance firm offering maritime services — insurance, traffic control, security and emergency response — to vessels transiting the strait. It "accepts payment in Bitcoin and other digital assets as part of the regime's attempts to bypass Western sanctions," the agency said, and generates revenue on behalf of the IRGC.
