Iran Is Putting a ‘Toll Booth’ in the Strait of Hormuz
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One month into his war on Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump is now scrambling to secure something that was not previously insecure—the Strait of Hormuz—turning it into the central thrust of the war’s uncertain endgame.
Iran, or more specifically its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has taken effective control of the world’s most important shipping lane and choke point, through which normally passes one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas as well as even more of its fertilizer and helium.
One month into his war on Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump is now scrambling to secure something that was not previously insecure—the Strait of Hormuz—turning it into the central thrust of the war’s uncertain endgame.
Iran, or more specifically its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has taken effective control of the world’s most important shipping lane and choke point, through which normally passes one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas as well as even more of its fertilizer and helium.
Iran hasthreatened for decadesto close the strait, and U.S. war planners have spent decades preparing for just that—and yet it is effectively closed. Tanker transits during the entire month of Marchdon’t add up towhat used to pass through each day. Oil prices climbed again early on Thursday, reaching more than $107 a barrel as the accumulated impact of millions of barrels of lost crude shipments start to be felt by a global economy that burns more than 100 million barrels of the stuff every day.
What’s interesting about Iran’s chokehold on Hormuz is how different it is from the paralysis that the Iran-backedHouthisinflictedon shipping trafficin the Red Sea between 2023 and 2025. The Houthis attacked ships and scared them into taking alternate routes, and traffic has never recovered. (The Houthis could still come into this war;they haven’t yet, but if they do, the one major alternative for Saudi oil exports will be curtailed, with even more disastrous impacts on oil markets.) Iran has attacked some ships—around16 so far—which is why shipowners are reluctant to risk the passage, and why maritime insurance rates have soared.
But that is not Iran’s ultimate vision for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since mid-March, Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz into a “toll booth,” according toLloyd’s List Intelligence, a major maritime news and analysis firm—rerouting ships from the normal, well-demarcated two-way lane in the middle of the strait to an alternate path close to the Iranian coastline, between the islands of Qeshm and Larak. The IRGC checks ships’ nationality, ownership, cargo, and crew, and if it grants permission, then those ships can pass out of the strait. Lloyd’s List estimates that some two dozen have used that route so far.
Some have even had to pay for the privilege—at least two so far, according to Lloyd’s, with estimated tolls at $2 million pe