Iran Introduces Hormuz Toll Road - Now You Can Pay for Driving at Sea Too

Iran's parliamentary committee has discovered a revolutionary business model - if you can't control oil prices, at least you can control who drives by to take a look. The Strait of Hormuz will now have a toll system in rials, which is about as stable a currency as Liepāja's winter weather.

While Riga is still figuring out how to impose tolls for entering downtown, Iran has already figured out how to impose tolls for exiting the Persian Gulf. A committee member explained that the plan includes "financial arrangements in rials," which means Americans and the "Zionist regime" will be banned from crossing the strait, while everyone else - pay up and drive through.

Historically, one-fifth of the world's oil shipments crossed the Strait of Hormuz, but after February's events, traffic has decreased by 95%. That's about as dramatic a drop as visitor numbers to Liepāja's museum during winter months, though the history there really is interesting - not just about oil, but also about how people have learned to survive difficult conditions for centuries.

A local sailor commented: "Well, now the Strait of Hormuz will be like the Grobiņa road to Liepāja - pay or go around." True, going around Africa is a bit farther than going through Grobiņa, but the principle is the same - time is money, and now straits are money too.

Oman, which is on the other side of the strait, remains silent for now, but perhaps they're also thinking about their own toll system. After all, why should only Iran profit from geographical location?