About our Strait of Hormuz news
Latest news on the Strait of Hormuz, covering Iran's blockade, oil prices, IRGC attacks, LNG trade disruption, shipping crisis and the US-Iran conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most critical maritime choke point, a narrow waterway just 34 kilometres wide at its narrowest, running between Iran and Oman into the Persian Gulf. Before the current crisis, it carried roughly 20% of global seaborne oil trade and 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, with around 20 million barrels of oil transiting daily. No other single passage comes close to its strategic weight for global energy markets.
The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis began on 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran responded by closing the strait to foreign shipping. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued warnings forbidding passage, attacked merchant vessels, and laid sea mines across the waterway. Shipping traffic collapsed to roughly 5% of pre-war levels, prompting the International Energy Agency to describe the disruption as the largest energy supply shock in history.
Oil prices surged sharply in response, with Brent crude rising above $100 per barrel in the weeks following the closure. The crisis has left nearly 1,000 vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf, with an estimated 20,000 seafarers trapped in extremely difficult conditions. Iran has since created a new Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), demanding that vessels submit detailed declaration forms before being permitted to transit, effectively asserting sovereign control over an internationally recognised waterway.
Diplomatic efforts have made little headway. China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on 7 April calling for freedom of navigation, while NATO allies including the UK, Germany and Japan declined US requests to join a military escort operation. The US launched its own counter-blockade on Iranian ports from 13 April 2026, and later initiated "Operation Project Freedom" to guide stranded vessels out of the Gulf, before pausing it on 6 May citing "great progress" in Pakistan-mediated talks with Iran. A CMA CGM container ship was struck by an Iranian attack as recently as 7 May, underscoring how volatile conditions remain.
The Strait of Hormuz has been a geopolitical flashpoint for decades. During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the "Tanker War" saw hundreds of vessels attacked as both sides targeted each other's oil exports. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait during periods of US sanctions pressure, but the current closure marks the first time in modern history that shipping has been so comprehensively disrupted. The waterway's history of tension reflects the broader dynamic between Iran, Western powers, and Gulf states over regional dominance and energy security.
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