US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Oman's ambassador has assured Washington the sultanate has no plans to introduce a toll for crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Bessent said he warned Oman the Treasury would “aggressively” attack anyone involved in imposing tolls in the strait. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman after Iranian state media reported Tehran and Muscat would jointly manage traffic in the waterway. “I think the President wanted to punctuate freedom of navigation in the strait,” Mr Bessent said.
Iran's top security body in a post on X last week announced the formation of the Strait Authority to control the waterway, which Tehran has effectively closed since March and wants to charge a toll for ships to sail through it.
The Treasury Department said anyone co-operating with the body could be providing and receiving services from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, exposing them to risk of US sanctions violations.
“Iran's Strait Authority is a joke and today we have sanctioned it,” Mr Bessent said in a post on X. “We have warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or hiding them as aid payments.”
In the same post, Mr Bessent said the US would be shutting down both Iranian airlines' access to landing spots, refuelling and ticket sales. He later said the US would not restrict on Muslims travelling for religious purposes.
The sanctions were announced on Wednesday as part of the Treasury Department's "Economic Fury” campaign, which is part of Mr Trump's “maximum pressure” approach.
“The Iranian economy and currency are in free fall,” Mr Bessent said.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of the world's energy supply usually passes, has rattled oil markets and the global economy. Recent projections from the International Monetary Fund indicate slower economic growth and higher inflation because of the closure, while the fund has also warned prolonged disruption would lead to sharper economic consequences.
Data released earlier on Thursday showed the Federal Reserve's inflation index rose to a three-year high of 3.8 per cent year on year in April. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.3 per cent.
The US economy also grew at a slower pace than previously anticipated in the first quarter. The Commerce Department said US gross domestic product grew at a 1.6 per cent pace, revised down from its previous 2 per cent projection.
“The downward revisions to consumer spending in Q1 and the slowdown in April point to a consumer coming under stress, but not one that is about to buckle,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics.
The latest inflation report underlines the higher-for-longer outlook on interest rates, which the US Federal Reserve – and the UAE, whose dirham is pegged to the dollar – have held steady this year. Mr Bessent said he believed new Fed chief Kevin Warsh would do the right thing and balance inflation and growth. “We've got the Warsh Fed now. It's a new day at the Fed,” Mr Bessent said.
Oil prices have receded in recent days on hopes that a deal between Washington and Tehran is within reach, although Brent crude is still trading more than 30 per cent above its pre-war level.
“We are in the midst of the largest energy security crisis the world has ever faced – and I believe this will reshape investment strategies globally, with parallels to the major changes the energy world witnessed after the oil shocks of the 1970s,” International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol said in its latest World Energy Investment report.
The IEA, World Bank and IMF last month announced a co-ordinated response to support energy-vulnerable economies most affected by the conflict. The IMF has previously said it expects demand for new programmes to range between $20 billion and $50 billion, with more than a dozen countries expressing interest.
The US has also implemented a naval blockade of Iranian ships in the strait. Mr Trump on Sunday said the blockade would remain in place as he indicated he is not in a rush to come to an agreement with Tehran.
