US Treasury warns shippers: paying Iran Hormuz tolls risks sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department warned Friday that any payment made to Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz — including charitable donations routed to Iranian organizations — violates American sanctions, according to an official alert from the Treasury's enforcement arm.

The alert from the Office of Foreign Assets Control comes after Iran proposed levying transit fees on vessels as part of war-end negotiations — a move with potential ripple effects for Pacific-bound tanker routes that supply Southern California refineries. The strait carries about 20 percent of the world's seaborne crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

"OFAC is issuing this alert to warn U.S. and non-U.S. persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method," the Office of Foreign Assets Control said in its statement, according to The Korea Times.

The warning covers a wide range of payment forms, including fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps and charitable contributions. Treasury specifically named the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan and Iranian embassy accounts as channels shippers should not use for disguised transit payments.

Iran's transit fee proposal emerged during war-end negotiations, with Tehran sending its latest proposal through Pakistan as a mediating party. The attempt to monetize access to the Persian Gulf prompted an immediate U.S. policy response.

The sanctions warning applies equally to U.S. and non-U.S. persons, extending Washington's legal reach across the global shipping industry. Companies that pay tolls or mask payments as humanitarian aid face penalties under existing Iran sanctions law regardless of where they are incorporated.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage between Iran and Oman, controls access to the entire Persian Gulf. Any disruption or tolling scheme there ripples through global oil markets — including the Pacific-bound tanker routes supplying West Coast refineries that serve Southern California drivers and businesses.