Iran closes Strait of Hormuz, warns ships of attack if they try to pass

escalation of war in iran

Here’s what you need to know about the strait and the escalating war with Iran.

A key waterway for global shipping, the Strait of Hormuz is a winding waterway approximately 33 km wide at its narrowest point. It connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

From there, ships can travel to other parts of the world. Iran and Oman have territorial waters in the strait, but it is considered an international waterway open to all ships.

The UAE, home to the skyscraper city of Dubai, is also located near the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz has long played an important role in trade throughout history, with ceramics, ivory, silk, and textiles moving through the region from China. In modern times, it is a route for ultra-large oil tankers transporting oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, and Iran.

Is the strait closed?

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pipelines that could avoid transit, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration says “most volumes transiting the strait have no alternative exit from the region.”

Threats to the route have caused global energy prices to soar in the past, including last June’s Israel-Iran war.

The strait has not been officially closed, but tanker traffic has fallen sharply since satellite navigation systems were disrupted, data and analytics firm Kpler told X.

Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations Center reported several attacks on ships on both sides of the Channel and warned there could be heightened electronic interference with systems that tell ships where they are.

A bomb-laden drone boat attacked a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman heading into the strait from the east, killing one sailor, an Omani spokesman said.

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