🇮🇷💵 Iran’s yuan-friendly Hormuz fees flip the script on dollar clout

🔊 Iran’s de facto control of the Strait of Hormuz is giving it a powerful lever to blunt the US’ “maximum pressure” campaign against it, global energy expert Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh tells Sputnik.

While the Hormuz toll system pulls in China’s yuan and stablecoins - chipping away at petrodollar dominance - the US strategy against Iran had already “failed miserably” long before, he notes.

👉 Iran sidestepped US sanctions, exporting roughly 1.5–1.7 million barrels per day—about 90% to China—paid largely in yuan or barter deals, with proceeds convertible into gold via Shanghai Gold Exchange.

💬 Iran’s approach aligns with a broader BRICS push toward settling trade in national currencies rather than the dollar, Dr. Salameh points out.

The BRICS states are “leading the accelerating global de-dollarization drive,” with 90% of trade between China, Russia and India carried out in their national currencies.

It could be argued that the US has targeted Iran’s IT and energy infrastructure to curb crude exports—especially to China—and disrupt alternative payment systems.
But that view overlooks basic energy dynamics, says the expert.

💰 While Trump has pushed for Brent at $40–$60, any strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure is fraught with retaliation in the Gulf, tightening supply and potentially sending Brent toward $150–$200.

💬 “And who would be the biggest loser in the world? No other than the US,” says the expert.

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💵🇮🇷 Iran’s Hormuz Strait toll challenges the petrodollar system

As the US is stepping up attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure, the Hormuz Strait toll scheme in yuans and stablecoins is gaining steam.

💬 "It significantly weakens 'maximum pressure' by bypassing dollar-based systems," Iranian political analyst Dr. Alam Saleh tells Sputnik.

💬 Iran is "effectively challenging the US economy and the US dollar’s position as the global reserve currency, as well as the petrodollar system," echoes Turkish security expert Dr. Hasan Selim Ozertem.

🟠 Stablecoins operate on decentralized blockchain networks, making them harder to trace and block

🟠 Yuan payments are made through China’s Cross‑Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) – an alternative to SWIFT

🟠 The trend encourages BRICS non-dollar trade

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💸 How the Iranian Strait of Hormuz toll accelerates de-dollarization

🇮🇷 Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz into a tollfate—charging ships for safe passage and accepting only yuan or cryptocurrencies instead of dollars, US media reports.

Iran is setting new rules

🔸 The Iranian National Security Committee has approved a bill to impose fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz

The system wirks like this:

▪️ Ship operators contact an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked intermediary

▪️ They give vessel details: ownership, flag, cargo, destination, crew and Automatic Identification System (AIS) data

▪️ The intermediary forwards the information to the IRGC Navy Hormozgan Command

▪️ Background checks ensure no links to Israel, the US or other Iranian-designated enemy states

▪️ Paying the toll gives ships a route and a secret code to call a patrol escort through the Strait

🔸 Iran uses a first-to‑fifth ranking of countries by friendliness, with friendlier ones getting better rates starting at around $1 per barrel of oil

🔸 A very large crude carrier which usually holds about 2 million barrels would face roughly a $2 million fee

New financial order and death of the petrodollar

🔶 Why yuan? China is Iran’s largest oil buyer, and using its currency lets Iran bypass US sanctions

🔶 Use of a yuan‑paid toll builds a parallel financial system outside the US dollar

🔶 Russia took that path after the 2022 sanctions, selling oil exports in yuan, rubles and other national currencies

🔶 The Chinese Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), an alternative to SWIFT, is up and running

🔶 Both cases show that energy market de-dollarization is no longer theoretical—it’s happening now

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Zimbabwe Set to Roll Out New ZiG Banknotes on Tuesday, Says Central Bank

🇿🇼💵 All is in place for the introduction of upgraded ZiG banknotes, with sufficient quantities already distributed nationwide to meet anticipated cash demand, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mushayavanhu announced.

🟠The new family includes ZiG10, ZiG20, and ZiG50 notes initially, with ZiG100 and ZiG200 to follow gradually.

🟠Weekly withdrawal limits are set at ZiG10,000 for individuals and ZiG100,000 for companies.

🟠Old ZiG notes will continue to co‑circulate and be phased out naturally as they return to the banking system.

🟠The redesigned notes prioritize durability and security to address the rapid wear-and-tear of previous issues.

Mushayavanhu assured the public of adequate cash availability, citing single‑digit inflation, tight monetary policy, and growing foreign reserves as pillars of currency stability.

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New Import Rules to Strengthen Zimbabwe’s Economic Sovereignty, Consultancy Says

🇿🇼 The new regulations mark a decisive shift toward protecting local industry, curbing foreign currency outflows, and ensuring product quality, according to local firm Lucent Consultancy.

🟠The rules tighten controls on items such as cement, steel, footwear, and food products;
🟠Ban second‑hand underwear;
🟠Subject imports like textbooks and toiletries to licensing;
🟠The framework consolidates 16 previously scattered regulations into a unified system.

"By meticulously managing the flow of goods across its borders, the Government has created a framework where industrial growth is not left to chance but is fostered through strategic protection," the firm said.

While tighter controls may initially raise costs, long‑term benefits could include higher quality goods and formal employment growth, the firm noted.

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Central Bank Assures Kenya Has Sufficient Reserves to Weather Currency Shocks

🔙 This follows moderate pressure on the currency due to the Iran war, Kenya's central bank governor Kamau Thugge said on Thursday.

"We have strengthened our buffers. We were waiting for this kind of shock. That is why we built up our reserves to the level where they are now," Thugge clarified.

The shilling fell about 0.7% against the dollar in March after US and Israeli strikes on Iran prompted retaliation but recovered most of those losses Wednesday after President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

🏦 The Central Bank of Kenya has paused its rate-cutting cycle to assess spillover effects from rising global energy prices triggered by the conflict.

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Tight Liquidity Holds ZiG Steady Beyond 2026: Africa Economic Development Strategies

The ZiG exchange rate is set to keep stable even during periods of global volatility thanks to the restrained money supply growth and the tight liquidity, according to think tank Africa Economic Development Strategies (AEDS).

Current reserve money stands at approximately ZiG5 billion, which is “insufficient” to trigger sustained volatility in the foreign exchange market, Professor Gift Mugano, AEDS executive director, said.

Mugano's key points regarding the ZiG:

🟠Arbitrage-driven exchange rate spikes are short-lived due to lack of liquidity support;

🟠During recent geopolitical tensions, some retailers hiked exchange rates to ZiG45 per dollar after initially refusing the local currency;

🟠ZiG in circulation is only about one-sixth of total foreign currency demand;

🟠This imbalance inherently limits the currency's capacity for sharp depreciation.

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African Banking Sector Surpasses $100 Bln in Revenues in 2025, Outpacing Global Peers on Profitability: Report

🌍 Banking revenues across Africa were about $99 billion in 2024 and are estimated to have risen to $107 billion in 2025, a Western consulting agency said in a report.

🇿🇦 South Africa is Africa’s biggest banking market, generating about $26.4 billion in customer-driven revenues in 2024, it added.

Together with Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria, it makes up around 70% of the continent’s total banking revenues, the report noted.

🔊From 2020 to 2024, it said, African banking revenues rose at around 17% per year in constant-currency terms.

According to the report, the growth has been driven by:

🟠 greater financial inclusion;
🟠 fast take-up of digital banking;
🟠 strong demand from a young population.

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