The Iranian Persian Gulf Strait Authority issued the directive just hours before the U.S. Treasury unveiled a sprawling new sanctions package targeting brokers and shipping firms across the UAE, China, and Europe. By restricting the movement of vessels used for ship-to-ship transfers, Tehran is effectively complicating the logistics for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who rely on these shuttles to move crude from the Persian Gulf to larger export tankers.

Shipping companies are now scrambling to evaluate the risks of regional operations. An official at an Indian refinery confirmed that firms are actively avoiding chartered vessels associated with the blacklisted ships to prevent potential detention or loss of cargo. As Washington continues to tighten its grip on revenue streams linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the dual pressure from U.S. sanctions and Iranian enforcement is creating a volatile bottleneck, threatening to further paralyze trade through the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.