Friday, April 3, 2026: “Iran’s Toll Booth: IRGC Charges Ships in Yuan as Trump’s April 6 Deadline Looms”

Iran has built a de facto toll booth at Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, with the IRGC charging ships up to $2 million for passage – paid in Chinese yuan. Their parliament just passed a bill to formalize it. Maritime traffic is down 94%. But Trump has drawn the line: reopen Hormuz by April 6 or he strikes power plants and energy infrastructure. Three Omani tankers are testing a new route along Oman’s coast to bypass Iran’s corridor. On the domestic front, Trump signs an executive order to pay ALL DHS workers after 48 days of shutdown, while Speaker Johnson does a complete reversal on the Senate funding plan. Madison Levant closes with a weekend watchlist for patriots – the April 6 deadline is Sunday.