Iran Implements New Transit Regime in Hormuz Strait

Iran is consolidating its control of the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters has found Tehran is implementing a new multi-tiered system, granting vessels safe passage through the waterway, and it's being used by nations trying to replenish dwindling energy supplies throttled by the war. Reuters found that, with Iran now in de facto control of the Strait, the system can involve government-to-government arrangements, intense vetting by Iranian authorities, and sometimes fees in exchange for safe passage. Dani Sitronovich is a former Israeli intelligence officer who is now a researcher for the Institute of National Security Studies in Israel. So all the process need to go through the Iranian authorities and only after they'll get the approval by the Iranian navy, the Revolutionary Guard Navy, only then they can get out from the Straits. Reuters was able to track the voyage of a tanker called Agios Phanourios 1. The 330-meter vessel, laden with Iraqi crude oil bound for Vietnam, had been floating off the coast of Dubai since late April. It set sail on May 10. The ship's progress was monitored closely in Vietnam, Iraq, Greece, and beyond. Periodically, the transponder went dark, but the Agios Phanourios 1 sailed on. No payments were made, said the ship's manager, Eastern Mediterranean Shipping, and six people with knowledge of the passage. Iran's government did not respond to a request for comment about the new mechanism or the journey of the Agios Phanourios 1. Iranians not only have a security control, but also they will use that for economical means and for political means. Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of the global oil supply, has thrown the world economy into turmoil. To reveal how Iran has been consolidating control over this strategic choke point in recent weeks, Reuters interviewed 20 people with knowledge of the evolving mechanism, including Asian and European shipping companies and Iranian and Iraqi officials, reviewed Iranian documents related to the vetting process, and analyzed movements of ships. Taken together, they offer a rare insight into how the Iranian scheme functions, with powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps playing a central role. Reuters found the new Iranian mechanism includes a tiered system giving preference to ships linked to its allies Russia and China, followed by countries such as India and Pakistan with close ties to Tehran, and then government-to-government agreements that let vessels like the Agios Phanourios 1 pass. So it's not only the economical one, it's not only the security one, but also the political one, using that in order to enhance the cooperation with countries that Iran is seeking to enhance cooperation with. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a statement on May 1 warning, quote, about sanctions risks of making these payments to or soliciting guarantees from the Iranian regime for safe passage.