“Tehran is trying to formalize — and monetize — its control over the Strait of Hormuz, previously a transit point for one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas, by charging a fee for passage,” the New York Times reports.
“What Iran is proposing violates the rules on which international shipping is based, which hold that countries cannot charge for safe passage through international waterways, and is unlikely to succeed, analysts say. Still, it is unsettling the shipping industry, heaping more uncertainty on companies with vessels and workers who have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for nearly three months as the war in Iran drag on.”
“The concern is that Iran, emboldened by having brought the United States to an impasse by invoking a powerful geographic choke point, could find a way to influence traffic through the strait even after the conflict ceases. The Iranian threats underline the war’s potential to do lasting damage to the global economy.”
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