Key Highlights
- Don’t come to this region.
- We will not allow a single drop of oil to leave the region.”Breaking It DownPowered via AIHow much oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz daily?What percentage of global LNG shipments pass through the strait?What could happen if the strait remains closed for an extended period?The strait, controlled by Iran, is considered the world’s most important oil export route, with around a fifth of global oil passing through the narrow waterway.
- The move is expected to send oil prices soaring at a time when global energy trade is already under strain. Satellite images showed smoke billowing from a vessel following an explosion near the port of Bandar Abbas.
- On Monday, an Iranian oil tanker was left burning after it was hit, while a US-allied fuel tanker was reportedly set alight in the strait following a drone attack, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz have been targeted multiple times since the US strikes on Iran began.
- The closure marks the second time in recent weeks that Tehran has shut the passage, having previously done so on February 18 during live-fire naval drills conducted by the IRGC. The Strait of Hormuz was first closed earlier this year as Iran carried out rare naval exercises and issued warnings against US warships operating in the Persian Gulf. Oil Prices Surge Amid US-Israel-Iran WarOil prices leaped on Monday on worries that war with Iran could clog the global flow of crude and worsen inflation.
