Iran has announced a complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all oil tankers and commercial ships, threatening to shoot at any vessel attempting to pass. This decision follows recent US strikes on Iran and highlights the strait's significance in global oil shipping.
Key points
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to all oil tankers and commercial ships.
The closure is a response to recent US strikes on Iran.
The strait is vital for global oil and LNG shipping.
Iran has previously allowed some ships to pass for a toll.
The closure impacts ongoing peace negotiations with the US.
Mentioned in this story
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Iran has announced that the Strait of Hormuz has been completely closed to all oil tankers and commercial ships in response to recent US strikes on the country, and stated any vessel attempting to pass would be shot at.
The strait is one of the world’s most important maritime routes, as it is the only route to the open sea for oil producers in the Gulf. In peacetime, 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is shipped through it.
Following the first US-Israel strikes on Tehran on February 28, Iran closed the passage to shipping traffic. The waterway remains Iran’s most significant leverage in ongoing peace negotiations with the United States.
Since then, Iran has, at times, allowed some ships to pass – in some cases, reportedly charging tolls as high as $2m per ship to pass.
So why has Iran announced the full closure of the Strait of Hormuz once again, now?
Here’s what we know:
What has led to the latest closure announcement?
Iran’s military ordered the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz early on Thursday in response to US strikes on the country, which have continued for several days this week. The US responded by saying some ships were still getting through.
On Tuesday, Iranian media reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and on the nearby island of Qeshm and said water reservoirs supplying 20,000 people had also been destroyed in US strikes on Iran’s southern Sirik region.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) described the strikes as “self-defense”.
It said they were “a proportional response to recent attacks on US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters”, including the downing of a US Apache attack helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Iran has denied deliberately targeting the helicopter and the US said it is investigating the incident.
Despite hopes that the exchanges could be contained, the incident quickly spiralled.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded to Tuesday’s US strikes by launching a drone attack on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to state media.
It also announced that its Aerospace Force had launched long-range, solid-fuel missiles at an airbase in Jordan.
Jordan’s military said it had shot down five missiles launched from Iran, while Kuwait’s military said it was “intercepting hostile aerial targets”. Air raid sirens were also activated in Bahrain.
The IRGC warned that heavier retaliatory measures would follow if the US military “aggression” continued.
Q&A
Why did Iran close the Strait of Hormuz again?
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to recent US strikes on the country, asserting its leverage in ongoing negotiations.
What percentage of global oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz is crucial as it handles 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments during peacetime.
What are the consequences of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz?
The closure could disrupt global oil supply and escalate tensions between Iran and the United States, impacting international markets.
Has Iran allowed any ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz recently?
Yes, Iran has previously allowed some ships to pass, reportedly charging tolls as high as $2 million per vessel.
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On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that Washington was, indeed, launching new strikes on “key facilities” in Iran, saying the attacks were part of attempts to secure a permanent ceasefire. Speaking outside CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Hegseth said President Donald Trump had ordered that Iran be hit “hard” and warned the strikes could continue for a second consecutive night if necessary.
US President Donald Trump said: “They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them; now they will have to pay the price.”
The US followed this with another round of air strikes on Iran on Wednesday while Tehran launched more retaliatory attacks at US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s “unlawful and criminal attacks” carried out by the US, adding that it has rendered the ceasefire “useless”.
Is the ceasefire at risk?
Following the breakdown of direct talks in Islamabad on April 12, the US and Iran have been exchanging a series of proposals and counter-proposals for a peace deal via mediators in Pakistan. However, several sticking points remain – in particular Israel’s continued occupation of and strikes on Lebanon. Iran wants Lebanon included in any peace deal, something Israel opposes.
Analysts say the recent exchanges of fire show the two sides are testing each other’s resolve to maintain a fragile, temporary truce called on April 8 ahead of the Islamabad talks.
But Brussels-based military analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera the “tit-for-tat” series of attacks between the US and Iran is particularly “dangerous” because it “risks miscalculation” in an already-tense environment.
Magnier said there is currently no “stable political exit” from mounting tensions, and that peace is far from being achieved while Lebanon remains outside the scope of any final settlement.
“The most dangerous thing is that each side believes they can control the escalation. However, a repeated incident can erode restraint, and if talks collapse completely, this controlled escalation could widen into a much larger conflict,” he said.
History has shown that if “one strike crosses the red line”, the attacks can spiral out of control, Magnier added.
Samir Puri, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said the US-Iran attacks overnight on Wednesday point to a situation that will not “de-escalate any time soon”.
“It’s the worst escalation of fighting and mutual attacks since the ceasefire began in April. So it has every possibility of spiralling into further escalation, but let’s hope that isn’t the case because there is still some commitment to diplomacy,” Puri told Al Jazeera.
What’s been happening in the Strait of Hormuz?
On March 2, Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced that the strait was “closed” and if any vessels tried to cross it, the IRGC and the navy would “set those ships ablaze”.
Tehran’s move came in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began with strikes on Tehran on February 28. The announcement of the closure of the strait, through which 20 million barrels of oil are shipped each day under normal circumstances, sent oil prices soaring well above $100 per barrel from a pre-war price of about $65.
On April 8, after Iran and the US agreed on a ceasefire, Tehran agreed to reopen the strait and did so for a few hours on April 17 once Washington had also mediated a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. But Washington announced a blockade of Iranian ports, including those in the Strait of Hormuz, on April 13, following the collapse of the Islamabad talks.
So, on April 18, Iran said it had closed the waterway again in response.
The IRGC described the US naval blockade, as well as its seizure of ships attempting to reach Iranian ports, as “acts of piracy and maritime theft”, adding that the control over Hormuz is “under the strict management and control of the armed forces”.
“Until the US restores full freedom of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to their destinations and back, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will remain tightly controlled and in its previous condition,” it said.
Then, on Wednesday this week, Iran reiterated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the recent exchange of fire with the US.
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What is each side trying to achieve?
Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera that Tehran wants to make sure that control of the Strait of Hormuz remains in Iranian hands.
“Iran will pay whatever price that comes with that because that gives you leverage,” he said.
Some analysts speculated that the US is trying to destroy Iran’s ability to monitor the strait with its recent attacks.
“The way that the US has used its military to target Bandar Abbas, to target Qeshm Island in recent days and weeks, even the IRGC have also said some of these US strikes are hitting radar installations,” Puri said. “It leads me to wonder if the US military is still somewhat committed to actually physically destroying the Iranian military’s ability to surveil the Strait of Hormuz and to mount its own antiship attacks.”
However, Izadi said this may not have the desired effect. “In terms of its long-term confrontation with the United States and Israel, Iran does not need these [military] facilities right next to the Persian Gulf to control the strait,” he said, noting that “Iran is a big country with long-range ballistic missiles and drones available.”
Izadi said, ultimately, the only way to resolve the Strait of Hormuz closure is through negotiations.
“I think US officials can be happy by attacking a few sites in Iran today, but in the long run, I don’t think they can manage to get to their policy goals, if they want to continue resolving this issue with military means,” he said.
“I think it has a political solution, not a military solution, and I think this is something a lot of people in Washington also realise.”
Have any ships passed through the strait?
Yes. At times during the conflict, Iran has indicated that it will allow ships not aligned with the US and its allies to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a letter sent to the 176 members of the International Maritime Organization on March 26, while missiles were still flying across the region, Iran stated: “Non-hostile vessels, including those belonging to or associated with other States, may – provided that they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran and fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations – benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the competent Iranian authorities.”
After separate talks with nations deemed “friendly” by Iran, some ships from Malaysia, China, Egypt, South Korea and India have been allowed to pass through the strait for the first time since the blockade began in March.
According to a March report by shipping journal Lloyd’s List, at least two vessels that have transited the strait so far have also paid a toll to Iran in yuan, China’s currency. Lloyd’s List said that one “transit was brokered by a Chinese maritime services company acting as an intermediary, which also handled the payment to Iranian authorities”. It is not clear how much the vessels paid.
According to ship-tracking data from Kpler, 279 ships are known to have transited the strait between February 28 and April 12.
According to Marine intelligence company Windward, more than 80 commercial vessels have passed the waterway in the last five weeks.
Meanwhile, more than 60 vessels have also traversed the route with their automatic identification systems turned off since the war began, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
These crossings are still only a fraction of the regular volume of traffic in the strait. Before the war, an average of about 100 vessels crossed it each day.
Have ships crossing the strait been attacked?
Yes. While some ships have been allowed to cross the strait, at least 22 ships have been attacked, according to Kpler.
Two Indian vessels were hit in the Strait of Hormuz on April 18 after Iran said the strait was closed to all traffic, despite having allowed Indian ships to pass before this.
On the same day, IRGC gunboats also fired on a tanker in the strait northeast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in an online statement.
“Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating.”
India summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi to demand an explanation for the “shooting incident” involving the two Indian-flagged merchant vessels, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said.
On April 22, Iran said it had captured two other foreign commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and moved them to its coast. The IRGC said the vessels had entered the waterway without permission.
Most recently, on Wednesday, the IRGC Navy said it had hit two more ships attempting to “illegally pass through the Strait of Hormuz”, according to the Mehr News Agency.
Also on Wednesday, CENTCOM said it had disabled a vessel – identified as the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello – as it was “attempting to transport oil from Iran”. Three Indian sailors on the vessel were killed in the US strike.
“A US aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces,” CENTCOM said in a statement shared on social media.
India’s foreign ministry said it condemned the attack on the commercial vessel Settebello off the coast of Oman. New Delhi has also summoned a senior US diplomat to protest the US strike on the tanker, a government source told Al Jazeera.
On Thursday, US CENTCOM said its forces had disabled another oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel “violated the blockade against Iran by attempting to transport Iranian oil”.
Overall, US forces have disabled eight vessels, redirected 134 and allowed 42 others “supporting humanitarian aid” to transit since the Trump administration’s blockade of Iranian ports began in mid-April, CENTCOM said.
What is the significance of the latest announcement on the strait?
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused one of the worst energy crises in decades, with experts warning of a looming global recession.
Since the blockade of the strait began, oil prices have soared as high as $126 per barrel, compared with a pre-war price of about $65.
On Thursday, oil prices jumped once again on fears of an escalation of hostilities between the US and Iran, but later stabilised.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 0.09 percent, to $93.18 a barrel by 07:02 GMT.
According to Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project and senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, Iran’s latest announcement will further unsettle the markets.
“The Iranian statement will jack up energy prices, which translates into pressure on President Trump to back off,” he said.
The paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz has also affected the supply of fertilisers and pharmaceuticals to countries around the world since ships carrying these supplies have been unable to pass through the strait.
Chris Featherstone, a political scientist at the University of York, said Iran’s announcement also signals that it is entrenching its position.
“Adding this [the announcement on the strait] to its further strikes on US assets in the Gulf, it demonstrates how far the US and Iran are from a potential negotiated end to this conflict. It further attacks the fragility of the ‘ceasefire’ between the US and Iran,” he told Al Jazeera.
“This adds significant pressure on the Trump administration to demonstrate that they have a plan for a route to end this conflict, something which they have so far failed to demonstrate,” he added.
