Iran Shuts the Strait of Hormuz to All Ships After US Strikes

Here's the situation in plain terms: since late February 2026, a full-blown war has broken out between the United States, Israel, and Iran — and one of the biggest side effects is hitting you directly at the gas pump, the grocery store, and everywhere energy costs touch your life.

Here's how it started. On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched a coordinated surprise strike on Iran — codenamed Operation Epic Fury — targeting military sites, nuclear facilities, and Iranian leadership. The result was seismic: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the attack. This wasn't just a military strike; it was a decapitation of Iran's government at the highest level.

Iran hit back hard. Within days, it launched massive missile and drone barrages at Israeli cities, US military bases across the Gulf (in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and more), and US-aligned Arab states. The conflict immediately dragged in Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah ramped up rocket attacks on Israel.

Then came the move that changed everything for the rest of the world: Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

If you've never heard of the Strait of Hormuz, think of it as the world's most important oil pipeline — except it's a narrow waterway. Before this war, roughly a quarter of all the world's seaborne oil and 20% of its liquefied natural gas passed through it every single month. Around 3,000 ships used it monthly. On March 4, Iran officially declared the strait closed and threatened to attack any vessel that tried to pass. They backed up that threat — Iranian forces boarded ships, struck tankers with drones, and laid sea mines in the water. A US-flagged ship was struck at Bahrain's port, killing a dock worker.

The economic shockwaves were immediate. WTO data shows a 95% drop in crude oil shipments and a 99% drop in LNG shipments through the strait since the war began. Oil prices, already elevated, spiked sharply. Energy costs, food transport costs, manufacturing — essentially anything that moves or gets made using fuel — got more expensive for you.

Not everyone lost, though. An analysis found the United States actually saw about $50 billion in increased energy export revenue, and Russia gained over $15 billion, since both countries export oil outside the Persian Gulf. The Gulf states that rely on the strait — Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE — took heavy financial hits.

The US tried everything short of boots on the ground. In April, after peace talks in Islamabad failed, the US imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports. There was a brief two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan in early April, but it quickly fell apart — both sides accused the other of violations, and Iran re-closed the strait. By June, Iran had halted negotiations entirely, vowing a complete blockade and threatening to activate other chokepoints like the Bab al-Mandeb Strait (another vital shipping lane near Yemen).

As of right now, the UAE's state oil company says don't expect full shipping flows through Hormuz to resume until 2027, even if a deal is struck quickly. Diplomatic talks are crawling along, with major sticking points still unresolved — including Iran's demands for sanctions relief and US-Israeli demands on Iran's nuclear program. China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the strait. The situation remains very much live and unresolved.