The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps now demands a “toll” from ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, charging for their security in renminbi or cryptocurrency. With the U.S. disengagement from ensuring freedom of navigation, no other actor is stepping forward to secure global maritime security, paving the way for a lasting militarization of the passage. If this precedent catches on, the thirteen major maritime chokepoints that handle $10 trillion in annual trade could all become toll points.
By Tom Holland
The leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have always had a knack for business. From mobile operators to airports to national natural gas distribution, the commercial interests of the IRGC extend across the entire Iranian economy. Today, this enterprising organization has found a lucrative way to profit from the current war: reportedly, the IRGC now imposes a “toll” to allow ships flying the flag of “friendly” countries to cross the Strait of Hormuz without incident. Ships that do not pay this toll remain at risk of drone or missile attacks.
Details are scarce; few international maritime leaders are eager to admit to paying this toll. But according to reports, the IRGC is said to be willing to allow the passage of ships flying the flags of countries such as China, Malaysia, India, and Pakistan, including those that have hastily re-registered and changed flags. The ships are required to sail off the Iranian rule of Larak, after paying the IRGC a fee in renminbi or cryptocurrency. One ship reportedly paid the equivalent of $2 million USD to make the crossing.
“During the last week of March, only 24 merchant ships openly traversed the strait, compared to over 600 during the last week of February, before the start of the war.”
Clearly, most shipping companies do not pay this toll. But it is evident that some operators are paying up. Recent days have seen container ships, bulk carriers, and tankers reportedly paying the toll. And based on recent statements from the U.S. president and other leaders, more are likely to pay the toll in the future.
Read Also: Hormuz: blockage of maritime trade
Research: a new global sheriff
“The United States imports virtually no oil via the Strait of Hormuz,” declared Donald Trump. “Countries in the world that receive oil via the Strait of Hormuz must deal with this passage… They should take the initiative to protect the oil they depend on so desperately.” This marks a radical shift from March 2025, when the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, described the “restoration of freedom of navigation” as “a fundamental national interest” and the primary goal of U.S. airstrikes against the Houthi movement in Yemen.
The United States no longer intends to demand that Iran abandon its threats to navigation as a condition for ending hostilities. This threat – and the toll imposed by Iran – will remain in effect even if Trump declares victory and ends the bombings. And the longer the Iranian threat persists, the more the world will desperately need energy deliveries and other essential exports from the Gulf – and the higher the prices will rise – the more shipping companies will pay this toll.
Read Also: Strait of Hormuz: a critical transit zone
A precedent with global consequences
Before the war, around 25 oil tankers per day, carrying an average of 20 million barrels of oil, left the Gulf for the rest of the world, mainly to Asia. If this $2 million toll is implemented widely, and if Iran also applies it to incoming ships in ballast, it will result in a $5 increase per barrel on the price of Gulf oil shipped from Hormuz. Globally, this is equivalent to a $1 per barrel increase in the major oil benchmark indices. And if this tax is applied to all commercial ships, not just tankers, it represents an additional $50 billion in annual revenue for the IRGC.
“In the short term, this perspective means the end of Dubai as a transshipment hub. It also strongly encourages energy producers in the Gulf Arab states to develop pipeline links to alternative export terminals outside the Persian Gulf.”
This will be relatively easy for Saudi Arabia, which already has an export terminal on the Red Sea, and for the United Arab Emirates, which owns one in the Gulf of Oman. It will be much more difficult and costly for Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq. And of course, it also provides hydrocarbon importers, especially in Asia, with an additional incentive to develop alternative sources of energy supply.
Read Also: Straits and canals: when war threatens the arteries of global trade
But what is perhaps even more worrying is the precedent set by Iran’s toll. If Iran succeeds in flouting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea by denying “innocent passage” and imposing a fee on commercial ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz, other governments and armed groups may follow suit. Why not charge for transit through the Bab al-Mandab strait? The Malacca Strait? The Strait of Gibraltar? The Bosphorus? The English Channel? The Taiwan Strait?
“According to a 2023 academic study, up to three-quarters of the world’s maritime trade value, around $10 trillion per year, transits through 13 key maritime chokepoints.”
If the idea of collecting a toll gains traction, this additional obstacle in the gears of international trade will be a major hindrance to global commerce – and to global economic growth.
Read Also: Iranian naval mines, the invisible weapon of the Strait of Hormuz
