Iran\u2019s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping channel through which around 20% of the world\u2019s daily oil flows.<\/p>\n
The move, which could block $1 billion in oil shipments per day, is likely to send oil prices soaring.<\/p>\n
It will come into effect pending a final decision by Iran\u2019s Supreme Council.<\/p>\n
Jask, also known as Bandar-e Jask, is a southern port town in Iran, located on the Gulf of Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Gallo Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Supreme Council\u2019s decision must be made by tonight, according to Iran\u2019s state-run Press TV.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s major escalation in response to US strikes on its nuclear facilities \u201cwill be done whenever necessary,\u201d Email Kosari, Commander in the Revolutionary Guards, said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The strait connecting the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf is one of the world\u2019s most critical chokepoints \u2014 just 20 miles wide at its narrowest point.<\/p>\n
Shipping lanes in the strait\u00a0 \u2014 the area that is deep enough for ships to pass \u2014 are even narrower at less than two miles wide in each direction, making them much more vulnerable to attacks and threats of closure.<\/p>\n
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) speed boat is sailing along the Persian Gulf near a general cargo vessel. NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The channel is shallow, making it a particular target for underwater mining, while the narrowness of the strait makes passing vessels vulnerable to attack from shore-based missiles or interception by patrol boats or helicopters.<\/p>\n
Iran has no legal authority to block sea traffic through Hormuz, and any attempts by its navy to bar entry to the strait would likely be met by a strong response.<\/p>\n
Ships with the US Fifth Fleet, along with other Western navies, are patrolling the area at all times.<\/p>\n
It is bordered by Iran to the north and Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south.<\/p>\n
The bulk of all oil exported by the regional petro giants, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, all travel through this narrow waterway.<\/p>\n
\tUS drops $500M bombs on Iran<\/p>\n
Asia is likely to bear the brunt most from any closures to the waterway, with China, India, Japan and South Korea all getting most of their oil imports through the strait.<\/p>\n
China, the world\u2019s biggest buyer of Iranian oil and a critical partner that has previously used its veto power at the UN Security Council to block sanctions or resolutions against Tehran, would be particularly affected by any closure.<\/p>\n
The move would also hit Iran\u2019s own economy.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. June 21, 2025, following strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities. REUTERS<\/p>\n
Iran last disrupted traffic in the Persian Gulf in April last year when it seized an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the MSC Aries of violating maritime regulations.<\/p>\n
In April 2023, Iran seized a US-bound tanker, claiming the ship had struck another vessel.<\/p>\n
And in May 2022, two Greek tankers were held for six months in what was widely seen as retaliation to the confiscation of Iranian oil on a different ship by Greek and US authorities.<\/p>\n
In previous years, the Houthi militia in Yemen was able to successfully disrupt traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait leading into the Red Sea on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.<\/p>\n
Using the firing of missiles and drones, the Houthis were able to cut ship traffic through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden some 70% in June compared with the average levels in 2022 and 2023, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd, a unit of the world\u2019s largest shipbroker.<\/p>\n
Vessel operators have been forced instead to reroute traffic around the southern tip of Africa instead of using the Suez Canal, making journeys for ships traveling between Europe and Asia vastly more expensive and much longer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping channel through which around 20%…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,83,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,270,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-5666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-oil","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa","23":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114728019316161867","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}