The IRGC has imposed a toll system on the Strait of Hormuz where ships pay in Chinese yuan or stablecoins. At least two tankers already paid the equivalent of $2 million in yuan to cross. China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed it on social media. Iran’s embassy in Zimbabwe posted that it’s time to add the “petroyuan” to the global oil market.

The system works like this: operators must submit full documentation to IRGC-linked intermediaries, including ownership details, crew lists, and cargo manifests. After a security screening, a fee is negotiated based on a five-tier classification of the vessel’s flag. Tankers pay roughly $1 per barrel of oil. All in yuan.

Deutsche Bank warned last week: “The current conflict could be remembered as a key catalyst for erosion in petrodollar dominance, and the beginnings of the petroyuan.” Harvard’s Kenneth Rogoff, former IMF chief economist, confirmed: “Iran is dead serious about preferring yuan to avoid US sanctions and cultivate its ally, China.”