The Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned an Iranian agency attempting to control the Strait of Hormuz.

In a release, the department said the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) — which the Iranian government formed earlier this month to manage the passageway — is 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.

The department added that “anyone cooperating with the so-called strait authority may be providing support to and receiving services from” the IRGC, which exposes them to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, referring to the Trump administration’s campaign targeting the Iranian economy. 

“Through Economic Fury, the United States has imposed a financial stranglehold on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions.”

Under international law, compliant ships can travel through international waterways unimpeded, without having to pay a toll imposed by a country. But Iran is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which grants that right to ships. 

Earlier this month, the PGSA said the boundaries of its management supervision area extend from the “line connecting Kuh Mobarak in Iran and the south of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the east of the strait to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm al-Qaiwain in the UAE in the west of the strait.”

“Frequencies in this range for passing through the Strait of Hormuz require coordination with the Persian Gulf Waterway Management and a permit from this entity,” the authority added. 

Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February, the IRGC has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a global increase in oil and gas prices.

In April, the U.S. responded by starting a naval blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said that as of Saturday, U.S. forces had redirected 100 commercial vessels as part of the blockade.

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