Iran has been forcing oil tankers to pay millions of dollars to pass through a new, narrower route in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, Iran’s parliament is working to make these fees official and permanent. Shipping industry experts are already calling it “the Tehran toll booth.”
Before the U.S. and Israel launched their bombing campaign on February 28, around 110 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz every day. That number has since dropped to fewer than 10 vessels daily, according to NBC News. The remaining ships are now taking a different path through Iran’s territorial waters, squeezing through a tight channel between the islands of Qeshm and Larak.
