‘Better Not Be… Stop Now’: Trump Warns Iran Over Charging Toll On Tankers Crossing Hormuz

Last Updated:April 10, 2026, 02:55 IST

According to reports, Tehran is planning to charge a toll on all oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz during a two-week ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) issued a warning to Iran over reports that it is levying a transit toll on all oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

“There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!" he said in a post on Truth Social.

The remarks came amid rising tensions over the waterway, a critical global transit route through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.

According to reports, Tehran is planning to charge a toll on all oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz during a two-week ceasefire, with payments to be made in cryptocurrency.

Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told the Financial Times that Tehran intends to charge $1 per barrel on every tanker transiting the strategic waterway.

Additionally, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are asking vessels, seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, to pre-arrange tolls in cryptocurrency or Chinese yuan during the ceasefire with the US. Some crews even reported broadcasts warning that ships without approval risk being targeted, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Under the proposed system, tankers seeking passage will be required to email Iranian authorities with full details of their cargo.

Once inspections are completed, ships will be informed of the payable toll, calculated in cryptocurrency.

Hosseini said vessels would have only a few seconds to complete payment in Bitcoin, a move aimed at preventing the funds from being tracked or frozen under international sanctions.

Iran’s latest move follows its earlier 10-point ceasefire proposal, which included a provision allowing both Tehran and Muscat to impose transit fees on ships using the Strait of Hormuz.

That demand was firmly rejected by Oman, which said no tolls can be imposed on vessels crossing the strait.

International maritime law allows tolls in man-made canals like Suez or Panama. However, it does not permit charging for passage through natural waterways such as Hormuz.

Gulf states have objected that the plan violates freedom of navigation principles under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

News world ‘Better Not Be… Stop Now’: Trump Warns Iran Over Charging Toll On Tankers Crossing Hormuz

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