Mario Nawfal@MarioNawfal
🚨🇮🇷 Iran is attempting something no country has ever done: charge a toll on international waters...
The Strait of Hormuz has operated under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees "transit passage" through international straits.
No fees. No permission needed.
That has been the rule since the convention was adopted in 1982, and informally for centuries before that.
Iran is trying to rewrite that overnight.
Reports say Tehran has been using Larak Island as a tolling stop, charging up to $2 million per vessel.
At pre-war traffic of 138 ships per day, that would generate over $100 billion annually.
Even at the current trickle of 6-12 ships per day, the revenue adds up fast.
But here's where the narrative gets complicated.
Shipping insider Ed Finley-Richardson argues the "toll booth" story is largely overstated.
His point is simple: the IRGC is an OFAC-sanctioned terrorist organization.
Any compliant, insured Western-linked shipping company that sends money to them risks frozen bank accounts, secondary sanctions, and blacklisting.
The entire industry runs on strict compliance.
Legitimate tanker operators aren't casually wiring millions to sanctioned entities.
The ships that may be paying are the shadow fleet vessels already in Iran's orbit, not the mainstream companies that move the bulk of global trade.
For those compliant operators, the Strait remains effectively closed regardless of any toll arrangement because paying it would destroy their business.
Iran told mediators it would limit crossings to about 12 ships per day.
Before the war, over 100 crossed daily.
So even under the best case, Tehran is throttling 88% of normal traffic while trying to monetize what's left.
The reality on the water: 800+ ships still stranded.
Six made it through today.
The toll system may exist for sanctioned vessels but the compliant fleet that actually moves global oil is still anchored and waiting.
Source: @MarineTraffic , WSJ, @ed_fin
