The US has cautioned against striking deals with Iran to ensure a safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Treasury Department warned that deals with the Islamic Republic to ensure safe passage through the contentious Strait of Hormuz will attract sanctions even if payments are not involved.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world though which a fifth of the world's energy transit was routed. After the US-Israeli strikes began on February 28, the passage of vessels through the Strait has been hit, severely disrupting energy supplies and spurring a steep spike in oil prices to as high as $120 a barrel.
"Regardless of whether a payment is made, US persons are prohibited from receiving services from the Government of Iran, including services related to a guarantee of safe passage," the US Treasury said in an updated statement dated May 29.
The Iranian regime is charging ship operators $2 million to allow them to go through the Strait of Hormuz, according to some reports.
The US has sent conflicting messages on the chances of a deal with Iran, Bloomberg reported.
Iran created a new entity called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to "collect tolls and extort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz," Treasury said in the statement. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated the PGSA "pursuant to our counterterrorism authorities" cautioning that striking deals with the PGSA could attract sanctions.
According to reports on the Situation Room discussions on the draft of the latest ceasefire proposal, US President Donald Trump has sought changes to wordings around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, among other tweaks.
Though some ships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, nearly a third of the non-Iranian large oil tankers trapped inside the Persian Gulf managed to exit the dangerous choke point controlled by Iran, the Bloomberg report said.
The OFAC explicitly said payments to — and guarantees from — the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would not be authorized.
Vessel owners are increasingly optimistic about an uptick in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as more ships left the waterway this week, per another Bloomberg report.
The US has been providing information to aid those making such transit, the report said.
The draft memorandum of understanding has provided for a pledge from Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapon. Trump has conveyed to US negotiators that specific concessions should be woven in to the draft.
A 60-day window has been incorporated to discuss Iran's pledges on its nuclear program, as well as the relief for sanctions it has sought from Washington.
The process to dispose of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and curbing further enrichment are reportedly the contentious clauses.
Trump also seeks to weave in the time span needed to dispose the nuclear material, according to a senior administration official.
At least two shipowners, whose identities were not disclosed, said they were in touch with US military, which guided them on the best routes to navigate the waterway controlled by Iran.
Some ships were reportedly entering the Persian Gulf as well as leaving, it said, adding some vessels that managed to cross the Strait switched off their satellite transponders.
