Iran is seeking transit payments of as much as $2.0 million from some commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, creating an informal toll on one of the world’s most important shipping lanes and adding a new cost layer to already disrupted energy flows in the fourth week of the Middle East war.
The payments are described as ad hoc rather than systematic, according to people familiar with the matter, and some vessels have already paid.
The process remains opaque. It is not clear how the payments are being collected, what currency is being used, or which ships are most likely to be targeted.
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Hormuz matters because roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas moves through the waterway under normal conditions, alongside large volumes of food, metals and other goods.
The reported price point is high enough to alter voyage economics immediately. One Iranian official, parliament member Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said Iran has the right to take $2.0 million from vessels seeking to transit because of the “cost of war.” If applied in both directions, vessel operators from import-dependent Asian economies such as China, India or Japan could face a total of $4.0 million to enter the Gulf, load cargo and exit safely again. That would turn passage costs into something closer to the toll regimes of the Panama Canal or Suez Canal, except without formal tariff disclosure or established legal process.
While Boroujerdi publicly endorsed the charge on March 22 and framed it as a wartime right, Iran’s embassy in India later said comments about such fees reflected personal views and did not represent the official position of the Islamic Republic.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has indicated the strait remains open for vessels from non-enemy combatant countries if they first contact Iran and discuss arrangements.
Shipping patterns already reflect the pressure. Many of the few vessels still crossing are Iranian-linked, while some others appear to be hugging routes close to Iran’s coastline.
India pushed back on Tuesday, saying international law guarantees freedom of navigation through the strait and that no one can levy a fee for use of the channel. Even an informal toll creates a precedent that Gulf Arab producers and their customers see as unacceptable because it raises questions of sovereignty and gives Iran a template for weaponizing access to the export route their economies depend on.
One person familiar with the matter said Iran has floated formalizing the charges as part of a broader postwar settlement. That aligns with comments from last week that parliament was advancing a proposal requiring nations to pay Iran for using Hormuz as a secure shipping route.
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