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Iran has launched a new body called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, requiring all ships wishing to cross the Strait of Hormuz to register, fill out forms, and pay a toll before receiving a transit permit. The move represents Tehran's most formalised attempt yet to assert sovereign governance over a waterway that carries roughly 20 per cent of the world's seaborne oil trade.

Under the new system, vessels intending to transit the strait receive an email from an address associated with the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, informing them of the passage regulations. 'Ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz [will] receive an email from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., informing them of the transit regulations of the Strait of Hormuz. They then adjust themselves to this framework and receive a transit permit,' a statement attributed to the PGSA said. The authority's logo, bearing the name 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority — Islamic Republic of Iran,' was also shared publicly on social media on 5 May 2026.

A Tollbooth Turned Institution

The PGSA did not emerge in a vacuum. Merchant ships had already been trickling through the Strait of Hormuz as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps set up a tolled passageway in an earlier attempt to control the vital waterway, with ships navigating around Iran's Larak Island rather than through the previously standard international corridor.

Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi had already confirmed the toll practice in late March, stating that 'now, because war has costs, naturally, we must do this and take transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.' The formalisation of that system through the PGSA now gives it an institutional face.

Iranian state media had previously reported on plans to continue charging transit fees to some ships, making it lucrative for Iran to try to retain control of the waterway. The PGSA appears to be the formal realisation of those plans.

Direct Collision With Trump's Project Freedom

Iran's claims of a policy shift came on the heels of President Donald Trump's Project Freedom, which aims to force Iran to open the strait. On 4 May, the US Navy began escorting neutral vessels through Hormuz as part of the initiative, with two American-flagged merchant ships successfully completing the transit. The US military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reopen the strait.

The dual moves — Tehran launching a permit authority and Washington deploying naval escorts — place both powers in direct and simultaneous competition over who controls passage through the 34-kilometre-wide chokepoint. The US has warned shipping companies that they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the Strait.

Why Hormuz Matters

The strait's two unidirectional sea lanes facilitate the transit of around 20 million barrels of oil per day, representing roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne oil trade, primarily from producers like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Qatar.

Before the United States and Israel launched their attacks on Iran in late February, about 3,000 vessels typically passed through the Strait of Hormuz each month. But since the war began, traffic has been reduced to a trickle, with just 191 vessels recorded crossing in the entire month of April.

Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of Abu Dhabi's state oil company ADNOC, has described any restriction on passage as 'economic terrorism,' warning that 'when Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy.'

What Comes Next

With the PGSA now operational and the US Navy actively escorting vessels, both Tehran and Washington are staking their positions over what has become one of the most consequential maritime flashpoints in decades.

The launch of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority marks a significant escalation in Iran's effort to institutionalise its control over Hormuz. Rather than relying solely on military force, Tehran is now using bureaucratic and administrative mechanisms to assert sovereignty — a shift that complicates international legal challenges and puts pressure on shipping companies caught between Iranian permit demands and threatened US sanctions.

While Iran was striking Arab countries in the region, the President of the United States seemed to be in some different reality. While explosions were being heard in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, Trump was writing the following: