Mike Baker

It's Thursday, the 25th of June.

Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.

I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage.

All right, let's get briefed.

First up, Iran is revealing its plans for the Strait of Hormuz.

Oh, it's got plans.

New reporting suggests the regime wants a permanent role in managing one of the world's most important waterways and potentially taking in billions of dollars a year in the process.

Later in the show, disaster strikes Venezuela, where two powerful earthquakes rocked the capital and the surrounding region within moments of each other.

We'll bring you the latest from the ground as rescue crews, including from the U.S., race to find survivors as the death toll continues to climb.

But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

Well, the shooting may have stopped, at least for now, but the battle over the Strait of Hormuz appears to be entering a new phase.

According to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, Iran is laying out its vision for the future of one of the world's most important waterways.

And it's a vision that would give Tehran more influence, more authority and potentially tens of billions of dollars in new revenue each year.

Iranian officials estimate that a new system of fees for what they describe as a variety of maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz could generate as much as $40 billion annually for the countries that would be involved, with Iran, of course, playing a central role in managing the waterway.

Iran isn't talking about simply charging every tanker a fee that passes through the strait.

Instead, officials are describing a broader system in which ships would pay for services associated with transiting the waterway, everything from navigation assistance to environmental protection, maritime safety, security coordination, and insurance.

But while the details remain vague, the broader objective is becoming increasingly clear.

Iran isn't interested in just reopening the Strait of Hormuz after the recent conflict.

It wants a permanent role in deciding how the Strait is managed going forward.

And that may be the most significant consequence of this conflict.