Iran Claims Full Control of Strait of Hormuz — and Wants Tolls Paid in Rials
As US mines-cleared claims are flatly denied, Tehran draws its “red line” and threatens force against any warship that dares to enter
The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz intensified dramatically on Sunday as Iran declared full sovereignty over the critical waterway and demanded that any vessel wishing to pass through must pay a toll — in Iranian currency, the rial.
Iran’s Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Haji Babaei made the declaration in unambiguous terms, describing the strait as Tehran’s “red line” and warning that it remains firmly under Iranian control. The statement came just hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that American forces were actively clearing naval mines from the waterway and that it would soon be reopened to international shipping.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) swiftly and categorically rejected Trump’s claims, warning that any military vessel attempting to transit the strait would face “severe consequences.” The IRGC’s rebuttal came even as the US military’s CENTCOM insisted that American warships had already passed through the passage.
The duelling claims over who controls one of the world’s most strategically vital shipping lanes — through which roughly 20% of global oil supply passes — reflect the dangerous impasse that emerged from the collapse of 21 hours of peace talks in Islamabad on Saturday. Those negotiations, led on the American side by Vice President JD Vance, broke down over two core issues: Iran’s nuclear programme and the status of the Strait of Hormuz itself.
The demand for rial-denominated tolls adds a striking new dimension to the crisis. It is widely seen as both a symbolic assertion of Iranian sovereignty and a direct economic provocation — effectively challenging the US dollar’s dominance in global trade while signalling that Tehran has no intention of yielding control of the strait under pressure.
With diplomacy stalled, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring military operations against Iran “not over,” and Trump reportedly weighing a naval blockade as a next step, the Strait of Hormuz has now become the single most volatile flashpoint in the crisis — a narrow strip of water where the risk of miscalculation could have consequences felt at petrol pumps and stock markets across the world.
