Treasury Sanctions Two Iranian Firms Over a Strait of Hormuz 'Insurance' Scheme That Charges Ships to Pass

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two firms on July 29, 2026 that it says are integral to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed scheme forcing commercial vessels to buy mandatory maritime "insurance" to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury named the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority, and said the coverage purports to protect ships from risks such as seizure that are "overwhelmingly created by Iran itself." The policies accept payment in digital assets, which Treasury said is designed to evade sanctions. "The United States will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC's terrorism, aggression, and repression," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The action targets the revenue mechanism behind Iran's effective control of a waterway that carries a large share of seaborne oil, rather than the military capability itself. It arrives while the strait remains closed to normal traffic and the U.S. maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The designations were announced the same day U.S. and Saudi aircraft struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq. OFAC said the package also reinforces existing measures against Iran's shadow tanker fleet.