Iran has created a government agency to vet and tax vessels seeking passage through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a shipping data company reported Thursday, as Tehran said it was reviewing the latest U.S. proposals for ending the war. The Iranian effort to formalize control over the channel raised new concerns about international shipping, with hundreds of commercial ships bottled up in the Persian Gulf and unable to reach the open sea. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Middle East peace efforts at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV, whose opposition to the Iran war has led to open sparring with President Donald Trump.