U.S. Treasury Warns Hormuz ‘Toll’ Payments to Iran Could Trigger Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department has issued new sanctions guidance warning that payments to Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for so-called “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz are prohibited, adding a new compliance risk to an already fragile maritime security picture.

In Frequently Asked Question 1249 released Monday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, said payments to the Government of Iran or the IRGC, whether direct or indirect, “would not be authorized” for U.S. persons, including U.S. financial institutions, or U.S.-owned or controlled foreign entities.

The guidance also warned non-U.S. shipowners, banks, insurers and other foreign counterparties could