As the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran approaches its second week and prices for gasoline and other items continue to soar in the U.S., attention is also growing on the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that transports some of the world’s oil and natural gas.
Iran announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in early March, triggering a rise in energy prices and a halt to oil shipments in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli attacks that began on February 28. Iran has also vowed to “arson” ships that try to pass through the strait, and more than a dozen tankers and other vessels have come under Iranian attack in the days since.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a point of contention, so here’s what you need to know about the important waterway.
What is the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz is a 160-mile waterway that connects the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea.
As USA TODAY previously reported, the strait carries 20% of the world’s oil shipments and about 20% of the world’s seaborne liquefied natural gas. Most of the oil comes from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The strait is one of three major waterways that enable the export of natural gas and oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe and North America, the others being the Bab el-Mandeb Canal and the Suez Canal, respectively. Iran’s southern border runs along the length of the Gulf.
More than 3,000 vessels typically use the strait each month. Most of them transport crude oil, refined oil (the equivalent of about 20 million barrels of oil per day), and liquid natural gas from docks in the Persian Gulf to ports in China, India, Japan, and South Korea.
About 4% of those crude exports go to the Americas, while some oil shipments go to Europe. Closing this waterway will affect the amount of oil that can be shipped to the United States, resulting in higher prices for both oil and gas.
What is being said about the Strait of Hormuz?
Two days after the war began, Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “The straits are closed,” an Iranian Revolutionary Guards official said on March 2. “If anyone tries to cross the straits, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships on fire.”
Pressure on the strait has increased in the days since the initial blockade, with President Donald Trump pledging on social media on March 3 that insurance and military escorts would be provided to get people through the strait “as soon as possible.”
“The Strait is in great shape. We knocked out all their boats, we have some missiles, but not that many…We are in very good shape,” the president told reporters on March 11, according to Reuters.
Other U.S. leaders have also said further action is planned regarding the waterway, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright telling CNN News Central on March 12 that the Strait of Hormuz “will be open,” but that “we have to go through short-term pain to solve long-term problems” by “attacking Iran.”
Wright said naval escort will begin after the warship is no longer needed for military purposes.
“At this point, all of our military assets are focused on destroying Iran’s war-making capabilities and terrorizing its neighbors,” Wright said. “Once we are able to secure additional assets to move tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, we will do so. That will be soon.”
Still, Iranian leaders insist the waterway is closed and have signaled further action to keep it that way. At least 16 tankers and other vessels have been attacked by Iran since the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran began on February 28, USA TODAY reported.
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in his first message through state media on Thursday that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will continue as a means of putting pressure on the enemy.
“The lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used,” Khamenei said.
Adding to Khamenei’s message, Iranian naval commander Alireza Tansiri threatened to inflict the “severest blow” to keep the key oil shipping route closed.
“In response to the orders of the Supreme Commander, we will deliver the toughest blow to the aggressor enemy while maintaining our strategy of continuing to block the Strait of Hormuz,” Tansiri said on social media.
USA TODAY’s Francesca Chambers, Michael Loria, Zach Anderson, Janine Santucci, Janet Roarke, Ramon Padilla, George Petras and Bert Jansen contributed to this report.
