meta_id 3190880

On May 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), an Iranian government agency controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a blocked entity under Executive Order 13224, as amended. The designation targets Iran's scheme to extort vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz through illegitimate toll payments and demands for sensitive vessel information. The PGSA operates as a coordinated extortion mechanism between the Iranian government and the IRGC Navy, requiring commercial vessels to submit information and follow Iranian-designated routes near Iran's coast in exchange for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Funds collected from these illegitimate tolls are funneled directly to the IRGC, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. OFAC designated the PGSA for materially assisting, sponsoring, and providing financial, material, and technological support to the IRGC. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the designation reflects Iran's desperation following the Trump Administration's "Economic Fury" campaign, which has disrupted tens of billions of dollars in revenue accessible to the Iranian regime and frozen nearly half a billion dollars in regime-linked cryptocurrency. As a result of the designation, all property and interests in property of the PGSA in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons and entities are generally prohibited from conducting transactions involving the PGSA unless authorized by OFAC license. Non-U.S. persons are prohibited from causing U.S. persons to violate sanctions or engaging in conduct that evades sanctions. Violations may result in civil or criminal penalties. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions on behalf of the PGSA risk exposure to secondary sanctions, including restrictions on maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States. REFERENCES: U.S. Department of the Treasury Press Release: Economic Fury Targets Iranian Maritime Extortion (May 27, 2026) https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1445