Iran Charges Fees, Diverts Ships in Hormuz

Iran has begun charging transit fees and diverting commercial vessels in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, openly defying United States opposition and escalating tensions in the vital oil shipping corridor.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been patrolling the waterway, and Western navies have warned that the center of the strait has been mined, creating substantial risk for passing tankers.

A covert project using South Korean-owned supertankers to shuttle crude out of the Persian Gulf has proven so successful it is approaching pre-war flow rates.

The disruption has forced countries like Pakistan to purchase liquefied natural gas on the spot market as Qatari exports through the strait remain constrained.