NEED TO KNOW

• Iran has formally named five "friendly nations" — India, China, Russia, Iraq, and Pakistan — permitted strait passage
• Ships from non-allied nations are paying up to $2 million per transit in what analysts call a de facto toll booth
• The U.S. military began a campaign to reopen the strait by force on March 19; Trump's allied coalition push drew rejections from NATO partners

NEW YORK, NY (TDR) — Iran is not closing the Strait of Hormuz to the world — it's reopening it on its own terms, granting selective passage to friendly nations while locking out the United States, Israel, and their allies in a calculated leverage play that is redrawing global energy alignments in real time.

The big picture: What began as a wartime blockade has evolved into something more durable — an Iranian chokepoint strategy that separates the world into two energy lanes, and charges handsomely for access to one of them. The military confrontation is ongoing, but the economic architecture Iran is building around it may outlast the shooting.

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the framework on Thursday: passage is permitted for nations Iran considers friendly, and denied to the U.S., Israel, and allied Gulf states
• The friendly-nations list — India, China, Russia, Iraq, and Pakistan — covers major Asian economies that together represent the bulk of global energy demand east of the Persian Gulf
• The Iranian parliament is moving to formalize the toll structure with permanent taxes and fees, signaling Tehran views this as a long-term revenue stream, not a temporary war measure

Why it matters: The selective access policy has effectively turned a military crisis into a geopolitical sorting mechanism — nations that refuse to align with Washington gain energy access; those that do, don't.

• Oil prices hit $126 per barrel at their peak — the largest energy supply disruption since the 1970s oil crisis — while friendly-nation tankers move through at a price
• Tanker traffic through the strait has dropped from over 100 ships daily to just 21 transits since the war began on February 28, with roughly 400 vessels anchored in the Gulf of Oman waiting for clearance
• Shell's chief executive has warned that Europe could face fuel shortages as soon as next month without a reopening

Driving the news: Tehran's selective passage announcement came Thursday, the same day Iran named its terms publicly — and the same week Iran rejected a U.S. 15-point ceasefire plan as "maximalist."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE THE DUPREE REPORT

• Araghchi told Reuters: "For some of these countries that we consider friendly, or in cases where we have decided to do so for other reasons, our armed forces have provided safe passage"
• The Tehran Toll Booth — as it's been dubbed — charges up to $2 million per transit through Iranian territorial waters; at least 20 ships had used the corridor as of March 23
• Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, a Turkish vessel, a Pakistani Aframax tanker, and multiple China-linked ships have all transited since the blockade began
• The U.S. military launched a campaign to reopen the strait by force on March 19, deploying A-10s and Apache gunships against Iranian naval assets

What they're saying: The selective access policy has split analysts between those who see it as leverage genius and those who see it as an extortion scheme with an expiration date.

• Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi, speaking to Iranian state television — "The strait remains operational for nations that have engaged with Tehran and are considered friendly"
• Barbara Slavin, analyst cited by Al Jazeera, on why China isn't joining Trump's naval coalition — "Iran is only blocking oil shipments from countries affiliated with the United States and Israel" — China's oil is flowing fine without it
• Middle East security analyst Rodger Shanahan told Al Jazeera that allied military support for Trump's coalition is unlikely because most U.S. allies "opposed this war to begin with," making them "feel relatively less inclined to provide support to it"
• Foundation for Defense of Democracies analysts have called Iran's toll structure a "shakedown" and urged the Treasury to sanction Chinese financial intermediaries servicing Iran's toll accounts — an option the Trump administration has not yet pursued

Yes, but: The toll booth strategy carries real risk for Iran — and not just from U.S. airstrikes. Selectively reopening a waterway Iran declared closed exposes the limits of its control and invites countries to negotiate around it rather than pressure Washington.

• One China-owned vessel that broadcast "China Owner" via AIS during transit was struck by shrapnel on March 12, deterring further Chinese transits — Iran's enforcement is precise only until it isn't
• Oman's bypass ports at Duqm and Salalah offered an alternative route, but Iranian drone strikes damaged fuel storage at both facilities — Tehran is closing exits, not just gates
• The EU cited "legally inaccurate references" and an unbalanced approach in Iran's framework; legal scholars note the selective blockade may itself violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea regardless of who is allowed through

Between the lines: Iran isn't just fighting a war — it's conducting a live stress test of U.S. alliance cohesion, and the results so far favor Tehran. Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the EU all rejected Trump's request to join a naval escort coalition. That's not neutrality — it's a signal.

• The countries buying passage — India, China, Pakistan, Russia — are precisely the nations the U.S. has spent years trying to pull into its strategic orbit or sanction into compliance; Iran just handed them a concrete reason to maintain distance from Washington
• 22 countries signed a statement expressing willingness to contribute to safe passage efforts — but signing a statement and sending warships are two different things, and no allied fleet has materialized
• The toll booth, if formalized by the Iranian parliament, would represent the first time a nation has successfully monetized a violation of international maritime law at scale — establishing a precedent that extends well beyond this conflict

What's next:

• The U.S. military campaign to reopen the strait by force is ongoing; CENTCOM has destroyed underground missile bunkers along the Iranian coast
• Iran has rejected the U.S. 15-point ceasefire plan and issued its own five-condition counterproposal — negotiations remain stalled
• The Iranian parliament is moving to formalize permanent transit taxes on strait passage — a legislative step that would institutionalize the toll structure beyond the current conflict
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for immediate reopening of the strait, warning of food and fertilizer supply disruptions during the global planting season

If Iran's toll booth strategy survives this conflict — legally challenged, militarily contested, but economically functional — what does that establish about who actually controls the rules-based international order, and which nations are willing to pay to work around it?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from Al Jazeera, CNBC, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, India TV News, Wikipedia — 2026 Strait of Hormuz Crisis, Wikipedia — 2026 Strait of Hormuz Campaign, and Reuters via India.com.

Freedom-Loving Beachwear by Red Beach Nation - Save 10% With Code RVM10