Iran’s self-declared Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) announced on Friday that all vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz must submit transit requests at least 48 hours in advance, follow a prescribed route along the Iranian coast, and hold mandatory insurance. The insurance is currently provided free of charge, but the authority explicitly reserved the right to introduce fees in the future. Simultaneously, it confirmed that all security, environmental, and insurance-related charges will be waived for the 60-day duration of the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States. The dual announcement came as Washington reported that 20 ships had transited overnight via an alternative route along Oman’s coast, and after Pakistan’s navy reported sighting a mine near that same corridor.

Viewed from Tehran, the PGSA’s statement asserts Iranian jurisdiction over the strategic waterway, framing the waiver as a temporary concession during negotiations. The Iranian foreign ministry has linked the strait’s reopening to the broader ceasefire, insisting that an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon is integral to the agreement and that Iran will take all necessary measures to protect its interests and allies. From Washington and London, however, the move is interpreted as an attempt to institutionalise a toll regime. According to a senior official cited by the Mexican financial daily El Financiero, US allies led by the United Kingdom are urgently pressing the Trump administration not to accept or normalise any Iranian tariff on transit, warning that it would violate international maritime law and set a dangerous precedent for other chokepoints. The US Treasury has previously sanctioned the PGSA and dismissed its claims as illegitimate.

For the global shipping and oil industries, the requirement for mandatory insurance and a prescribed route crystallises long-standing fears of a de facto toll system on the world’s most critical energy passage. Although the 60-day waiver keeps the strait open without immediate cost, the PGSA’s explicit reservation of the right to introduce insurance fees creates legal and operational uncertainty for insurers, shipowners, and charterers. The alternative route near Oman, recommended by Western naval groups, is now shadowed by the reported mine sighting, complicating efforts to bypass Iranian-controlled lanes. A record volume of oil exited the strait immediately after the deal was signed, but visible traffic dropped sharply on Friday, with many tankers suspected of transiting with their transponders switched off.

The 14-point memorandum, signed remotely by the US and Iranian presidents, stipulates free and safe transit for 60 days, a gradual reopening of the strait, and mine clearance within 30 days, alongside nuclear commitments and sanctions relief. A planned signing ceremony in Geneva was cancelled, but delegations from the United States, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar are expected to begin technical negotiations there to flesh out verification and transit rules. The dossier remains precarious: Israel’s continued strikes in southern Lebanon, which Tehran considers a breach of the ceasefire’s spirit, and the unresolved status of the PGSA’s authority beyond the 60-day window, mean the path from interim truce to a durable settlement is far from assured.