Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The United States has warned shipping companies that they could face sanctions for paying Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert published by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the United States and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of global trade in oil and natural gas usually passes through it The strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf In peace time.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the United States and Israel went to war on February 28. It later began providing safe passage for some ships by diverting them via alternative routes closer to its coast, sometimes charging fees for the service.
These “toll booth” efforts are the focus of the US sanctions warning.
OFAC said payment requests could include transfers not only of cash but also “digital assets, compensation, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies.
He added, “Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons of the sanctions risks resulting from making these payments to the Iranian regime or requesting guarantees from it to obtain safe passage. These risks exist regardless of the method of payment.”
The United States responded to Iran’s closure of the Strait by imposing a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of the oil revenue it needs. And support its faltering economy.
US Central Command said 45 commercial ships had been ordered to return since the start of the blockade.
This warning came at a time when US President Donald Trump quickly rejected it Iran’s latest proposals To end war between countries.
“They want to make a deal, and I’m not happy with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He did not explain what he considered to be shortcomings, but he expressed his frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It’s very dysfunctional leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all a mess.”
Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday evening, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
The shaky one Ceasefire for three weeks Relations between the United States and Iran appear to be holding up, although the two countries have accused each other of violations. The confrontation is putting increasing pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products associated with the oil industry.
The president said that negotiations continued by phone after Trump canceled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week. Trump this week rolled out a new reopening plan Critical passage America’s allies in the Gulf use it to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi briefed several of his regional counterparts on the country’s initiatives to end the war, according to what he posted on his social media. He also held talks on Friday with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with EU partners in the Gulf.
Iran announced on Saturday that it had executed two men convicted of spying for Israel.
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online news website identified the two men as Yaqoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakrzadeh. She added that they were hanged after the country’s Supreme Court upheld the previous death sentences.
Karimpour is accused of sending “sensitive information” to an officer in the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, while Bakrzadeh allegedly sent details about the government and religious leaders as well as information about Natanz, the news agency said. The city in central Iran has a nuclear enrichment facility that was bombed by Israel and the United States last year.
Iran has executed more than a dozen people on charges of espionage and terrorist activities in recent weeks.
Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue,” as well as bringing the parties together to resume negotiations in good faith “to ensure that we pave the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been in almost constant telephone contact” with representatives from all parties, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed that the root cause of the enormous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegal war waged by the United States and Israel.”
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Associated Press writers Colleen Binkley in Washington, Nasser Karimi in Tehran and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.