{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-to-bessent-sanction-entities-illegally-paying-iran-for-strait-of-hormuz-passage", "Cotton to Bessent: Sanction Entities Illegally Paying Iran for Strait of Hormuz Passage", "2026-05-22", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nContact: Hannah McCarthy (202) 465-5601\n\nMay 22, 2026\n\nCotton to Bessent: Sanction Entities Illegally Paying Iran for Strait of Hormuz Passage\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent encouraging the administration to use existing authorities to sanction any entity assisting Iran with illegally blocking the Strait of Hormuz, including the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). The PGSA operates directly under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and illegally attempts to regulate transit and collect fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Senator Cotton further offered to work on legislation to provide the administration with additional authorities as needed.\n\nIn part, Senator Cotton wrote:\n\n\u201cThe PGSA cannot operate without the consent of other nations, and the United States must ensure every actor enabling the terrorist Iranian regime is held accountable. I stand ready to work with you and am preparing legislation to further codify your efforts. In the meantime, I support the use of existing authorities to impose sanctions on the PGSA, its officers, and any foreign entity that pays, processes, or facilitates tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d\n\nFull text of the letter may be found here and below.\n\nMay 21, 2026\n\nThe Honorable Scott Bessent\n\nSecretary of the Treasury\n\nU.S. Department of the Treasury\n\n1500 Pennsylvania Ave NW\n\nWashington, D.C. 20220\n\nDear Secretary Bessent,\n\nI applaud your warning that participants in the \u201cTehran Toll Booth\u201d may face punitive sanctions. Iran\u2019s efforts to illegally control the Strait of Hormuz are yet another example of the ongoing threats posed by the terrorist Iranian regime that Operation Economic Fury rightly targets. And reports that Iran is coordinating with other governments to jointly regulate traffic through the Strait are particularly alarming. Congress stands ready to support any actions that further this mission and hold these entities to account.\n\nJust this week, Iran officially launched the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), claiming sovereign authority to regulate transit and collect fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Under this illegal framework, ships must apply to the PGSA, disclose ownership, insurance, crew manifests, and cargo, and pay tolls reportedly reaching $2 million per vessel before being granted permission to transit. The PGSA operates directly under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, meaning every dollar collected directly finances a sanctioned terrorist entity.\n\nBeyond the immediate revenue it generates for the IRGC, formal recognition of their scheme by any government, shipowner, or financial institution would violate the principle of freedom of navigation and set a dangerous precedent for other coastal states near the world\u2019s critical maritime routes. Any individual, entity, or nation that lends legitimacy to Iran\u2019s illegal toll booth is enabling the IRGC and undermining the global trading system.\n\nThe PGSA cannot operate without the consent of other nations, and the United States must ensure every actor enabling the terrorist Iranian regime is held accountable. I stand ready to work with you and am preparing legislation to further codify your efforts. In the meantime, I support the use of existing authorities to impose sanctions on the PGSA, its officers, and any foreign entity that pays, processes, or facilitates tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.\n\nThank you for your attention to this important matter.\n\nSincerely,\n\nTom Cotton\n\nUnited States Senator\n\n###", 1, "2026-05-23T06:08:46Z", "2026-05-23T06:10:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-to-bessent-sanction-entities-illegally-paying-iran-for-strait-of-hormuz-passage"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9997929446399212, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}