The United States announced new Iran-related sanctions on Wednesday, adding the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PSGA) to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, according to the Treasury website and Reuters.
The PSGA is an Iranian body established to manage requests for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the Treasury Department, the authority was designated under counterterrorism sanctions authorities and was linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Treasury Department calls the Authority “a new attempt by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to monetize its campaign of state-sponsored terror by extorting vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” saying that the entity “spearheads an Iranian-controlled scheme that flagrantly violates international law and US sanctions.”
Anyone cooperating with the PSGA, the Treasury warns, may be sanctioned for supporting what they call extortion.
“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
US sanctions prohibit US-affiliated individuals from transacting with the IRGC
Economic Fury, an operation of sanctions launched by the Treasury, is carried out with the aim of crippling the Iranian economy and impeding illicit cash, oil, and weapons networks.
According to the Treasury Department’s May 27 press release, the US has “deprived the regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” and vows to continue the pursuit of their illicit financial and trade networks.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated earlier this month that Iran was known to be making toll demands in exchange for safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz. These demands include several payment options, such as cash, digital assets, offsets, bargains, and other forms of payment, including underhand payments to embassy accounts.
US sanctions generally prohibit US-affiliated individuals from transacting with the IRGC in any form under counterterrorism sanctions.
