Washington: The United States has sanctioned the Persian Gulf Authority, the body Iran has raised to manage Strait of Hormuzthe Treasury Department said Wednesday.
The authority is a body that Iran has created to manage requests for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran’s grip on the strait, the conduit for about a fifth of global oil supplies, has thrown the world economy into turmoil.
It closed the strait after the US and Israel launched its war against Iran on February 28.
Anyone who cooperates with the authority may provide support and receive services from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and may be sanctioned, the Treasury said in a statement.
“The latest attempt by the Iranian military to extort global maritime trade is proof that the Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Persian Gulf Authority released a map last week reaffirming Tehran’s claims of a vast stretch of water on either side of the chokepoint.
