Some tankers stuck at the Strait of Hormuz are reportedly being selected by Iran for passage, getting a secret code to do so if they pay a fee in yuan, according to a new report.
Bloomberg detailed the case of a tanker that received a proposal from the Pakistani government to cross as long as it changed registration and raised the flag of the country.
The offers were made after Iran agreed to allow 20 vessels to go through as the country seeks to become a mediator in the war with the United States. However, considering it had few vessels with the flag in the region, officials began calling companies with the offer.
The outlet went on to note that Tehran is beginning to build a more formal framework to exert control over the key waterway, through which about 20% of the world's energy goes.
Citing multiple people with knowledge of the operation, it noted that operators have to contact a company linked to the IRGC, which then passes it on to the revolutionary guard to check that it has no links to Israel or the U.S.
If they are approved, tankers begin negotiating a fee for passage, with the starting price at $1 per barrel of oil being carried. The fees are paid in yuan or stablecoins, prompting the IRGC to issue a permit code and route instructions, Bloomberg said.
U.S. officials have vowed to not let the situation become the status quo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "the Iranians are threatening to set up a permanent system in the Strait of Hormuz where they get to decide who goes through international waters."
"That will never be allowed to happen. The rest of the world should take note. They have more at stake there than we do. Very little of our energy comes through there. The rest of the world gets a lot more," he added.
Elsewhere, President Donald Trump said the U.S. is close to wrapping up operations in the country but will spend the next weeks bombing the country "back to the stone ages." He went on to say that if a deal is not reached, he will order the bombing of energy infrastructure.
