First, Iran and Hormuz, second, China and Taiwan? The dangerous implications of a tollbooth on the open sea

To end the war with the United States and Israel, Iran is demanding the right to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a precondition for reopening the waterway vital to world oil supplies.

Yet collecting tolls in the strait would violate a basic and enduring principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation. It’s an ancient idea that was codified by the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea, which took effect in 1994.

Opening the strait would save the global economy from supply constraints that have pushed energy and fertilizer prices sharply higher since the war began on Feb. 28. But agreeing to Iranian toll-collecting would cement the Islamic Republic’s control over the strait through which 20% of the world’s oil is shipped — and enrich the country against whom the war was launched.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made reopening the strait a priority. But the White House said Wednesday he is opposed to tolls, and analysts say the Gulf’s oil producers are, too.

Analysts say they have seen no change in traffic through the strait since the ceasefire was announced, despite claims to the contrary from the White House.

Here are things to know about Iran’s proposal and the international law with which it collides.

Iran had already begun charging vessels passing through the strait

After the U.S. and Israel launched the war, Iran immediately exercised leverage by blocking the strait with attacks — and threats of attacks — on ships, making passage too risky. The disruption caused immediate shortages in some Asian countries highly dependent on the region’s energy, sent gasoline prices higher in the U.S. and Europe, and threatened global........

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