How Iran's new transit regime tightens its grip over the Strait of Hormuz

📌 Summary:

• Iran has announced a formal transit regime for ships in the Strait of Hormuz, to be administered by a newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA)

• The PGSA claims oversight over more than 22,000 sq km — a zone of claimed military control that extends into the territorial waters of Oman and the UAE

• The Strait of Hormuz handled about a fifth of the world's energy flows in peacetime; since the US-Israel war on Iran in late February, only a trickle of vessels has passed

• The PGSA formalises an existing informal "toll booth" system run by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — vessels must email identification, cargo and crew details and pay a transit fee

• Legality is disputed: UNCLOS (1982) classifies Hormuz as a "strait used for international navigation" with a right of unimpeded "transit passage"; Iran signed but never ratified UNCLOS and relies instead on the 1958 Geneva Convention's narrower "innocent passage" (which allows suspension) — but transit passage is widely held to supersede it, and the shipping lanes fall largely within Omani waters (Oman has ratified UNCLOS)

• India is highly exposed — it imports a bulk of its oil and gas through Hormuz; some Indian-flagged tankers have transited safely and India denies paying Iran, while the US OFAC has warned of sanctions on those who pay Iran for passage, leaving importer nations in a dilemma

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS1 Geography / GS2 IR — geopolitical chokepoints, UNCLOS, energy security and India's vulnerability to maritime trade disruptions.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• The Strait of Hormuz is about 33 km (17.8 nautical miles) wide at its narrowest point and lies between Iran and Oman
• UNCLOS, 1982 allows territorial seas up to 12 nautical miles and classifies Hormuz as a strait used for international navigation (right of "transit passage")
• PGSA = Persian Gulf Strait Authority, created by Iran
• US OFAC = Office of Foreign Assets Control

🔑 Key Term: Transit passage — under UNCLOS, the right of ships and aircraft to pass continuously and unimpeded through straits used for international navigation.