In a move with enormous implications for global energy markets, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council officially announced the creation of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a new body tasked with managing the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes daily.
The announcement, shared on the council’s official X account and echoed by the Revolutionary Guards’ navy, said the body would provide “real-time updates on Hormuz Strait operations and latest developments.” Tehran has effectively imposed controls on the strait and wants to charge vessels for passage. While the exact scope of PGSA’s operations remains unclear, earlier reports from Iran’s Press TV described it as a “system to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz,” with ships already being sent navigational instructions. The formalization is likely to draw sharp reactions from the United States and Gulf Arab states, who view unimpeded passage through the strait as a matter of vital national interest.
