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Iran Conflict 2026
23AUG

France and Japan pay Iran's toll

2 min read
19:02UTC

Two G7 nations paid Iran in yuan to transit the Strait of Hormuz, breaking the collective coalition posture Washington built.

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ConflictAssessed
Key takeaway

The US-led coalition is fracturing as allies pay Iran for passage in Chinese currency.

CMA CGM Kribi, a Malta-flagged container ship owned by France's CMA CGM (the world's third-largest container line), became the first Western European vessel to transit the Strait of Hormuz since 28 February. It paid Iran's toll in yuan. Before entering Iranian territorial waters, the ship changed its AIS designation to "Owner France", signalling nationality for the IRGC's sorting mechanism. 1

Hours later, Mitsui OSK Lines' LNG carrier Sohar LNG crossed in ballast, the first Japanese-affiliated vessel to transit. Three Omani ships also passed through . The toll system charges $1 per barrel for oil tankers or roughly $2 million flat for container ships, payable in yuan or stablecoins.

France and Japan are nominal US allies. Both coordinated with Iranian maritime authorities. Both implicitly accepted Tehran's sovereignty claim over the strait, the precise claim Trump's 6 April energy deadline threatens force to break. Both paid in yuan, not dollars. The Philippines cut its own bilateral deal two days earlier . The coalition posture Washington has relied on since the blockade began is dissolving into bilateral licensing arrangements administered by Tehran.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

France and Japan are close US allies. On 4 April, their shipping companies paid Iran a fee in Chinese currency to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. This matters for two reasons. First, they implicitly accepted Iran's right to charge for use of an international waterway. Second, they paid in yuan, not dollars, chipping away at US financial influence. The Philippines cut a similar deal two days earlier. The alliance the US built around Hormuz is dissolving one bilateral arrangement at a time.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

France's CMA CGM faces existential commercial pressure: the world's third-largest container line cannot absorb indefinite Hormuz closure without route restructuring at scale.

Japan's LNG dependency on Gulf supply creates energy-security vulnerability that outweighs diplomatic solidarity costs. Both governments calculated that collective posture imposed costs their economies could not sustain, while defection imposed only reputational costs the US would absorb rather than escalate over.

What could happen next?
  • Precedent

    Yuan payment for Hormuz passage creates a non-dollar settlement precedent for strategic waterway access that will outlast this conflict.

    Long term · High
  • Consequence

    Each bilateral deal reduces the political viability of US military action to reopen Hormuz, as enforcement would require overriding arrangements US allies have themselves accepted.

    Short term · High
  • Risk

    General License U expiry on 19 April could force a confrontation with France and Japan if Treasury declines to renew, criminalising transactions both nations have already completed.

    Medium term · Medium
Sources:Euronews / Bloomberg·Euronews / Bloomberg
Mentions:Chatham House →Philippines →Strait of Hormuz →Iran →Lloyd's List →Atlantic Council →Tehran →Oman →Prima →Sohar →Japan →G7 →France →Malta →CMA CGM →IRGC Navy →Mitsui O.S.K. Lines →
First Reported In

Update #58 · First US aircraft fall over Iran

Euronews / Bloomberg· 4 Apr 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
Philippines Cuts Bilateral Hormuz Deal, Bypassing US Posture
The Philippines bilateral Hormuz deal two days earlier established the precedent of US allies bypassing collective posture through individual deals with Tehran.
Occurred 2 Apr 2026
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Omani Vessels Bypass IRGC Corridor, Disable Trackers
Oman's AIS-dark bypass of the IRGC corridor the same day as the Philippines deal created further coalition fracture that France and Japan extended to yuan payments.
Occurred 2 Apr 2026
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This Event
France and Japan pay Iran's toll
G7 allies accepting Tehran's sovereignty claim and paying in yuan is the conflict's most significant de-dollarisation event.
Led to
Iran's Hormuz Toll Matures Into Permanent Institution
French and Japanese vessels paying Hormuz tolls in yuan (ID:1929) established the pattern that the toll system has now institutionalised.
Occurred 6 Apr 2026
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Tehran demands ratification, not a deal
French and Japanese vessels paying the Hormuz toll in yuan (ID:1929) gave Iran operational proof that the legal regime functions without US consent.
Occurred 7 Apr 2026
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Different Perspectives
Hizballah
Hizballah
Has not commented on the US Treasury's 20 August designation of ten people, including named couriers, over a cash network Treasury says moved money to it from the IRGC-Qods Force. ACLED recorded a sharp rise in attacks around it the same day.
Kuwait
Kuwait
Kuwait's Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Khaled al-Shriaan, co-chaired the 16th US-Kuwait Joint Military Commission at the Pentagon on 21 August. Kuwait has not published what was agreed; only a summary of the meeting's existence and attendees is sourced.
Qatar
Qatar
Has not commented publicly on the $4.5bn KC-46A tanker Foreign Military Sale notification the State Department approved on 20 August. The notification opens a sale process; Doha has not confirmed whether it will proceed to a signed transfer.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Told a Baghdad business meeting on 20 August that Iran will not endure a hungry population regardless of its military strength, against 87.9% point-to-point inflation and 128.1% food inflation for Tir. His fellow Majlis Economic Committee member Samsami separately warned a petrol price rise would ignite unrest.
US Navy
US Navy
Signed a $22.9bn, seven-year contract with Raytheon on 17 August to raise Tomahawk output from about 60 a year to more than 1,000. The Acting Navy Secretary, quoted via an X post, framed it as the "Arsenal of Freedom" initiative; it replaces the 850 missiles fired by 1 April in about ten months at the new rate.
UK Maritime Trade Operations
UK Maritime Trade Operations
UKMTO logged six armed men boarding a tanker 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla on 20 August and redirecting it toward Somalia. A vessel steered toward the Somali coast reads as an attempted seizure, a distinct hazard from the stand-off strikes the same lane has seen before.