Nick Fountain

So the friend got in touch with the Indian government, who helped him broker a deal.

The SEPA Navy is part of the most powerful military body in Iran, an organization called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Passed through the strait, yes.

Hamid's friend got word that it was possible.

But first, he had to send some information.

Like ship name, country that it's flagged, where it's headed, what's on board, who's on board.

The...

Hamid said the Iranians were mainly checking to make sure the captain and the crew weren't from the U.S.

or Israel or Iran's other adversaries, and that the ship and cargo weren't affiliated with those countries, too.

Though he said, as far as he knows, the Iranian authorities were not verifying who was on the vessels by boarding or sending drones.

For Hamid's friend and his ship, everything checked out.

Then they approved.

They approved.

But his friend's ship could not pass yet.

First, he had to pay a toll.

Hamid's friend told him the ship had to pay one dollar per barrel of oil.

And keep in mind, these ships, they are big.

Very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, carry 2 million barrels of oil.

So these tolls could be as much as $2 million each time.

But Iran does not want to be paid in dollars, Hamid's friend told him.