UN shipping agency rejects Hormuz transit fees after Trump post
The UN’s shipping agency said Monday it was seeking more details after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and charge the equivalent of 20% of cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are aware of the post and awaiting more details,” a spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization said.
The IMO rejected the principle of charging vessels for passage through international straits.
“We have always been consistent on our stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation,” the spokesperson said.
“There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait.”
Britain said on Monday it would designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two other groups under new state threats legislation, making it a criminal offense to support or assist them if the measure is approved by parliament later this week.
The IRGC, the Iran-linked Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right and Russia's GRU Volunteer Corps would become the first organizations designated under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, which received royal assent last week.
The British government said people who support or assist the groups after they are designated could face up to 14 years in prison, while those carrying out sabotage, including arson, on their behalf could receive life sentences.
The designation is separate from proscription under Britain's terrorism legislation and is aimed at foreign state-backed activity including espionage, interference, sabotage and physical attacks.
The new powers would also allow prosecutors in some cases to bring charges without having to prove a direct connection to a foreign state, making it easier to prosecute people acting for designated organizations, the government said in a statement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday his government “will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets.”
“We have already taken tough action against the Iranian regime and those linked to it, and against Russian operatives and networks targeting our country,” he said. “These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain.”
The government said the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right had publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year on locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities and Persian-language media in Britain.
The attacks included an antisemitic arson attack that damaged four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, north London, on March 23.
It said members of the IRGC's Quds Force were behind the organization and had “almost certainly” directed the group's attacks across Europe.
Britain's domestic intelligence agency, MI5, identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots against people in the country over a one-year period, according to the government.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, adding that those working for the groups would be tracked down and imprisoned.
The government also plans to designate the GRU Volunteer Corps, which it described as a group controlled by Russia's military intelligence agency and used to recruit people online to carry out hostile acts including sabotage, arson and harassment.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called Iran and Russia’s use of proxy groups to conduct state-backed activity on British soil “reprehensible.”
“Their malign behaviour, and anyone who acts on their behalf, must be held to account,” she said. “We will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, at home and abroad.”
A Massachusetts man was found guilty of conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran in violation of US sanctions, the Associated Press reported.
“At its core, this case is straightforward. You cannot send goods, especially the goods at issue in this case, to Iran. Period. Full stop,” Assistant US Attorney Alathea Porter told jurors.
Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, a 43-year-old naturalized US citizen and former employee of global electronics company Analog Devices, was convicted on three of five charges.
Prosecutors accused Sadeghi of helping Iranian business associate Mohammad Abedininajafabadi evade US export controls through a front company in Switzerland.
They said Abedini’s Tehran-based company produces navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Iran’s joint military command said it would not allow the United States to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz and warned of a forceful response to any disruption of commercial shipping.
“The Islamic Republic’s armed forces will respond forcefully to any disruption or insecurity caused by the US military to the passage of commercial vessels and oil tankers outside the designated route and without authorization from the armed forces,” said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
Zolfaghari said the United States and countries cooperating with its military would bear responsibility for “all insecurity and any expansion of the war in the region.”
Control and security of the Strait of Hormuz are determined by Iran, not by US statements or warships, Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen reported, citing an unnamed senior Iranian security official.
The official warned that any repeat of recent US actions would prompt Tehran to expand the scope of its measures.
“The events of recent days confirm that the United States and its allies must abide by their commitments and accept Iran’s arrangements,” the official said.
The official also criticized US President Donald Trump over his claim that the United States had protected the strait for 50 years, saying the waterway had belonged to Iran for thousands of years before the United States existed.
US Central Command said it struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Naval Base on Sunday using multiple one-way attack surface drones.
Three Corsair unmanned vessels hit the port in the first combat use of sea drones by US forces, CENTCOM said, adding that the strikes degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
