U.S. warns shipping firms could face sanctions over paying Iran's Strait of Hormuz tolls

The United States is warning cargo ships companies that they could human face sanctions for making payments to islamic republic of iran to safely make it through and through the Strait of Hormuz.

The alert, posted on Friday by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the U.S. And Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, in peacetime.

Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the U.S. And Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.

That "tollbooth" effort is the focus of the U.S. Sanctions warning.

The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also "digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments," including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies, the OFAC said.

"OFAC is issuing this alert to warn U.S. And non-U.S. Persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method," it said.

Strait of Hormuz blockade choking off vital humanitarian aid, UN warns

The U.S. Responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

The U.S. Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.

Imprisoned Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi remained hospitalized in Zanjan, in northwestern Iran, after being transferred there from prison late Friday. Her foundation described the condition of the human rights lawyer as "very high risk," with fluctuating blood pressure and severe nausea.

Medical teams in Zanjan have requested her medical records before performing any treatment, though it has recommended that she be transferred to Tehran for treatment by her own doctors, the foundation said.

However, "the Intelligence [Ministry] is still opposing the transfer of Narges to a hospital in Tehran for angiography," her husband, Taghi Rahmani, said, referring to an imaging of blood vessels.

"Until the angiography is done, it is not possible to determine what her main illness currently is," Rahmani, who is based in Paris, said in a voice message shared with The Associated Press by the foundation.

Jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner defies Iranian oppression in smuggled speech

Mohammadi's brother, Oslo-based Hamidreza Mohammadi, said in a voice message shared with the AP that the doctors have not been able to treat her fluctuating blood pressure.

Mohammadi was urgently transferred from prison late Friday. The foundation said her legal team is pursuing the matter with the prosecutor general's office.

U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war.

"They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens," Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate but expressed frustration with Iran's leadership, calling it "very disjointed."

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Tehran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.

The shaky three-week ceasefire between the U.S. And Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.

How Strait of Hormuz shutdown caused history's biggest oil crisis

Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the war, according to his social media. He also held talks on Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates' aviation authority said ‌air traffic in the country ​has returned to ​normal, the state news agency ​reported on ⁠Saturday, ⁠after ‌precautionary measures implemented on Feb. 28 at the ⁠start of the war were ‌lifted. The U.A.E. Has the world’s busiest international ‌airport, located in Dubai.

Iran on Saturday said it hanged two men convicted of spying for Israel.

The Iranian judiciary's news outlet, Mizanonline, identified the men as Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh. It said they were hanged after the country's Supreme Court upheld earlier death sentences.

The news outlet said Karimpour was accused of sending "sensitive information" to an officer in Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, while Bekrzadeh was alleged to have sent details about government and religious leaders, as well as information about Natanz. The central Iranian city is home to a nuclear enrichment facility bombed by Israel and the U.S. Last year.

Iran has hanged more than a dozen people over alleged espionage and terrorist activities in recent weeks.

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