U.S. and Iran escalate fight over Strait of Hormuz control

The Strait of Hormuz is only 29 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point. President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade on Iranian ships as fighting with Iran over the waterway intensified, even as both governments claimed possession of the chokepoint.

The route has two 2-mile-wide shipping lanes, one inbound and one outbound, with a buffer zone in between. About 20 million barrels of oil a day flowed through the strait in 2024, roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption, and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas trade also moved through it, mostly from Qatar, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That concentration of supply makes even limited disruption expensive. Brent crude rose from $69 a barrel on June 12 to $74 on June 13 during recent regional tensions, before maritime traffic had been blocked, according to the Energy Information Administration. A short-lived slowdown, or even the threat of one, can push up oil prices quickly and raise the cost of marine insurance, costs that are usually passed along through fuel, freight and consumer prices in the United States.

During the Iran-Iraq Tanker War from 1981 to 1988, attacks on merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz were used as leverage against the other side. Iran has claimed authority over the strait since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and has repeatedly threatened to close it. The United States can escort ships and deter attacks; Iran can threaten the lane with missiles, mines, drones and strikes on nearby shipping.

An Iranian strike on a vessel in the strait set a container ship ablaze and forced the crew to abandon ship, while Iran also launched attacks on U.S. military bases in several Gulf states. Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said arrangements guaranteeing safe passage can amount to major concessions.