(March 24): Iran has started charging transit fees on some commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, another sign of Tehran’s control over the world’s most important maritime energy channel. Only a trickle of vessels have crossed the waterway since the war, many of them Iranian-linked vessels. Iran’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment amid state-imposed restrictions on telecommunications and Internet access. While Iran is demanding the transit fee on a case-by-case basis, the Islamic Republic has floated the idea of formalising the charges as part of a broader postwar settlement, one person said. Last week, an Iranian lawmaker said that parliament was advancing a proposal to require nations to pay Iran for using the Strait of Hormuz as a secure shipping route.

Source: The Edge Markets March 24, 2026 13:48 UTC