Iran has issued a stark warning to global shipping, declaring it will permit only 12 vessels per day to transit the critical Strait of Hormuz, with Pakistani mediators confirming all ships must now coordinate directly with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a move set to disrupt global energy markets, shipbrokers reveal tolls must be pre-settled exclusively in cryptocurrency or Chinese yuan, marking a seismic shift towards digital asset adoption in international trade and sanctions evasion.

Iran forces ships to seek formal approval before entering Hormuz

During the war, which was started by US and Israel unprovoked, Iran took practical control of the waterway by striking ships that tried to pass without permission.

Media outlets linked to Iran added even more tension to the picture. Press TV said the Strait of Hormuz had been closed. Earlier, the state news agency Fars said oil tanker traffic through the strait had been halted while Israel kept attacking Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, accused the U.S. on Wednesday of breaking the two week deal. In a statement posted on social media, he said, “The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments, a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again.”

On Wednesday, only four ships were allowed through, S&P Global Market Intelligence said, which was the lowest daily count so far in April.

Wall Street keeps betting Trump will pull back before the worst case hits

While shipping companies dealt with tolls, permits, and restricted passage, traders on Wall Street kept trading a different idea, one famously called the TACO trade, short for Trump Always Chickens Out.

That belief showed up clearly before Trump paused planned strikes on Iran just minutes before an 8 p.m. ET deadline, and crypto + stocks surged, while oil crashed.

Earlier that Tuesday, Trump had warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

But traders had already been leaning that way before the pause became official, seeing as the S&P 500 had just posted its first weekly gain in six weeks, rising 3.4%. Barclays said S&P 500 options showed only a modest risk premium into the deadline.

Adam Kobeissi wrote in an X post, “Systematic investors are operating in what may be the most profitable market conditions in history right now.”

The Mizuho trading desk wrote, “It’s probably a mix of complacency and confidence. Investors aren’t ignoring the risks, but they’re clearly leaning on history.”

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