Strait of Hormuz closure: how Iran turned the worlds key oil chokepoint into a weapon

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea passage that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond. At its narrowest point, between the Iranian coast and Oman's Musandam Peninsula, the strait is just about 33 kilometres wide. The entire passage falls within the overlapping territorial waters of Iran and Oman. Because there is no other way for tankers to leave the Persian Gulf for the open sea, Hormuz has long been treated as one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.

During 2023 to 2025, about 20 per cent of all liquefied natural gas and 25 per cent of all seaborne oil traded globally moved through this strait. In 2025 alone, around 20 million barrels of oil and oil products crossed the strait every day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Roughly 3,000 ships passed through each month. Gulf countries also use the strait to import food, medicines and technology, while exporting fertiliser. Iran controls seven of the eight main islands in the strait, including Qeshm, Hormuz, Larak and Abu Musa, which gives it a commanding physical hold over the shipping lanes.

For decades Iran had warned that if it came under attack it would shut the strait. That warning was acted upon in 2026. After the United States and Israel launched fresh strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, which included the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran retaliated by hitting Israel and American bases in the Gulf and by taking control of the Hormuz Strait. Daily ship traffic, which used to be more than 100 vessels, fell by over 90 per cent. Insurance and freight rates jumped sharply, and global oil prices rose.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used cheap drones, fast attack boats and mines to impose huge costs on any vessel that tried to cross without permission. This is a textbook example of asymmetric warfare, where a weaker power uses low-cost weapons to neutralise expensive military assets and disrupt global trade. India, which imports more than 85 per cent of its crude oil, was hit hard by the price shock.

A ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on April 8, 2026 was supposed to reopen the strait, but the two sides disagreed on its terms. When Iran refused to reopen the passage, Mr Trump on April 12 announced a US naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman. Iran responded by cancelling direct talks on its nuclear programme and by setting up a new body called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority. The authority now runs an email-based permit system for vessels and demands that every ship coordinate with it before crossing.

The deadlock has direct consequences for India's energy security. Indian refiners have had to look more closely at non-Gulf suppliers, accelerate strategic petroleum reserve plans, and study alternatives such as pipelines through Iran or routes via the Suez Canal, the Cape of Good Hope and the International North-South Transport Corridor. The episode also strengthens the case for higher domestic oil and gas exploration and faster rollout of renewable energy under the Panchamrit goals.

For exam aspirants, this story illustrates several themes at once: the geography of chokepoints, the concept of asymmetric warfare, the use of economic levers as instruments of statecraft, and the way West Asian instability shapes India's energy basket, current account deficit, fuel inflation and rupee value.