A 33-km-wide gap of water carries a fifth of the world's oil. Since February 2026 it has been a war zone — and nearly closed.
The strait is the only sea route in and out of the Persian Gulf. At its narrowest the shipping lanes squeeze to about 3 km in each direction — close enough to be threatened from shore.
There is no quick land alternative for most of this energy. When the strait chokes, the whole world feels the price.
The US and Israel launch airstrikes on Iran, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliates with missiles and drones against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.
The Revolutionary Guard declares the strait shut to "unfriendly nations," lays sea mines, boards merchant ships and claims "complete control."
Brent crude rockets past $100, then toward record highs as roughly 95% of normal traffic vanishes from the strait.
Washington launches a naval blockade of Iranian ports and strikes Iranian naval assets, deepening the standoff. China and Russia block UN action.
A conditional ceasefire holds while talks continue, but almost no shipping is moving. Analysts assume flows only gradually resume from June.
The World Bank called the disruption the biggest oil shock in history. Brent jumped roughly 65% by the end of March — its sharpest monthly rise ever — and stayed violently volatile.
Illustrative Brent crude path — directional, not exact daily prices.
Geography offers no easy detour. A handful of pipelines bypass it, but they can't carry anywhere near the volume the strait moves.
Oil and gas feed transport, electricity, fertilizer and plastics. A supply scare ripples into food, freight and inflation worldwide.
Most Gulf oil heads east. China, India, Japan and South Korea rely heavily on cargo that must thread this single passage.
Traders price in risk instantly. Even the threat of closure adds a "war premium" to prices long before any real shortage hits.