Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched a new maritime body — the Persian Gulf Strait Authority — claiming jurisdiction over ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz and requiring vessels to submit email applications before transiting one of the world's most critical shipping lanes. The development comes as a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran holds, and has drawn international attention after ABC News journalists submitted a passage request and received a response.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has moved to formalise its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, establishing what it calls the Persian Gulf Strait Authority and announcing that commercial and military vessels must apply for permission to pass through the strategic waterway.
The announcement, made amid an uneasy ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, marks a significant escalation in Iran's longstanding efforts to assert sovereignty over the strait — a narrow chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of the world's traded oil flows each day.
In an effort to understand the scope and seriousness of the new authority, ABC News journalists Emily Clark and Tavleen Singh submitted an application for passage via the email address provided by the IRGC. The authority responded, though the full content of the exchange and the conditions outlined in the response are under review.
The move has alarmed maritime nations and shipping industry observers, who argue that the Strait of Hormuz falls under international law — specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — which guarantees the right of "transit passage" through international straits. Iran is not a signatory to UNCLOS, a point Tehran has repeatedly used to contest the legal framework governing the strait.
The United States Navy maintains a significant presence in the Persian Gulf and has historically opposed any unilateral Iranian effort to control passage through the strait. The US Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain, and American forces have frequently escorted commercial vessels through the region during periods of heightened tension.
Shipping analysts note that even the perception of Iranian authority over the strait could drive up insurance premiums for vessels transiting the Gulf, adding costs that would ultimately be passed on to energy consumers globally.
The ceasefire between the US and Iran — the terms and durability of which remain unclear — appears to have created a window in which Tehran is seeking to institutionalise new facts on the water. Whether the Persian Gulf Strait Authority represents a negotiating tactic, a genuine attempt at maritime governance, or a provocation aimed at testing American resolve remains a matter of debate among regional experts.
Neither the White House nor the US State Department had issued a formal public response at the time of publication.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most critical oil chokepoint — any disruption or perceived Iranian control over passage rights could spike global energy prices and destabilise shipping markets.
- Iran's move tests the durability of its ceasefire with the US, with the risk that a confrontation over a vessel's right of passage could reignite hostilities.
- If other nations comply with the application process, even tacitly, it may legitimise Iranian jurisdiction claims that international law currently does not recognise.
Background
The Strait of Hormuz has been a flashpoint in US-Iran relations for decades. Iran first threatened to close the strait in the 1980s during the "Tanker War" phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict, and has repeatedly raised the possibility of blockading it during periods of sanctions pressure. In 2019, a series of tanker attacks attributed to Iran — and IRGC seizures of foreign vessels — pushed the region to the brink of open conflict.
The IRGC's Navy has long operated in the Gulf alongside Iran's conventional naval forces, and has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States since 2019. Its maritime activities have included the seizure of vessels it accuses of smuggling or of violating Iranian waters, often in disputed circumstances.
The current ceasefire, apparently brokered after an escalation between US and Iranian forces, is fragile by most accounts. Tehran has historically used pauses in hostilities to consolidate political and strategic gains, and the establishment of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority fits that pattern.
Key Perspectives
Iran / IRGC: Tehran has long argued that it has sovereign rights over the strait and that foreign military vessels — particularly American ones — have no legitimate business operating in what it considers Iranian-adjacent waters. The new authority may be framed domestically as a reassertion of national dignity and sovereignty.
United States and Western Allies: Washington and its allies insist that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway governed by the right of transit passage under customary international law, and that no single nation can unilaterally impose permission requirements. Any compliance with the IRGC's email system could be seen as an unacceptable concession.
Critics/Skeptics: Some analysts caution that the Persian Gulf Strait Authority may be more symbolic than operational — a bureaucratic fiction designed to create leverage in ongoing negotiations rather than a genuinely enforceable regime. Others warn that even symbolic assertions of control, if unchallenged, have a way of hardening into precedent.
What to Watch
- Whether major shipping companies or flag states acknowledge or comply with the IRGC's application process — any compliance would signal a shift in the de facto balance of power in the Gulf.
- The US government's formal response, if any, and whether the Navy changes its operational posture in the strait.
- The status of the US-Iran ceasefire in the coming weeks — any incident involving a vessel that did or did not apply for passage could become a trigger for renewed conflict.