A man stands in the water, appearing to fish, as bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran. AFP
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control alert posted Friday adds pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, where about a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes.
Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking and threatening ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through routes closer to its shore, charging fees at times.
That “ tollbooth ” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning, which said payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies.
The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of Iranian ports on April 13, preventing Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command has said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects the latest Iranian proposal
US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday. He didn't elaborate but expressed frustration with Iran's leadership, calling it “very disjointed.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Tehran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last weekend, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran hangs two men convicted of spying for Israel
Iran on Saturday said it hanged two men convicted of spying for Israel.
The Iranian judiciary's news outlet, Mizanonline, identified the men as Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh. It said they were hanged after the Supreme Court upheld death sentences.
The news outlet said Karimpour was accused of sending “sensitive information” to an officer in Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, while Bekrzadeh was alleged to have sent details about government and religious leaders as well as information about Natanz. The central Iranian city is home to a nuclear enrichment facility bombed by Israel and the US last year.
Iran has hanged more than a dozen people over alleged espionage and terrorist activities in recent weeks. Rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.
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