What is the Strait of Hormuz? What to know about the vital waterway
What is the Strait of Hormuz? What to know about the vital waterway
Kate Perez, USA TODAYThu, March 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM UTC
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What is the Strait of Hormuz? What to know about the vital waterway
As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran approaches two weeks and Americans continue to see price surges for gasoline and other items, attention on the near-total shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway carrying some of the world's oil shipments and natural gas, is also growing.
Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early March, setting off an increase in energy prices and a halt of petroleum shipments in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli attacks that started the war on Feb. 28. Iran also pledged to set ships that tried to pass the strait "ablaze," and in the days since, over a dozen tankers and other vessels have come under attack from Iran.
As the Strait of Hormuz remains a point of contention, here's what to know about the vital waterway.
1 / 0Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran
Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.
What is the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz is a 100-mile-long waterway that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
As previously reported by USA TODAY, the strait carries 20% of the world’s oil shipments and about 20% of the world’s seaborne liquified natural gas. Most of the oil is from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The strait is one of three major waterways allowing transport of natural gas and petroleum exports from the Persian Gulf to Europe and North America, with the others being the Bab el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal, respectively. Iran's southern border extends along the length of the Gulf.
Typically, more than 3,000 ships use the strait every month. Most of them transport crude oil, refined petroleum – the equivalent of about 20 million barrels of oil a day – and liquid natural gas from Persian Gulf docks to ports in China, India, Japan and South Korea.
About 4% of those crude oil exports head to the Americas while a portion of oil shipments go to Europe. That waterway closure impacts the amount of oil able to be transported to the United States, resulting in higher prices for both oil and gas.
A visual look: You may pay more for gas after Iran closes Strait of Hormuz oil route
What has been said about the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz two days after the start of the war. "The strait is closed,” said an official of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on March 2. “If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guard and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze.”
Pressure in the strait has ramped up in the days since the initial closure, with President Donald Trump promising insurance and military escorts for passage through the area "as soon as possible" on social media March 3.
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The president doubled down on March 11, telling reporters that "the straits are in great shape. We've knocked out all of their boats and they have some missiles, but not very many...we're in very good shape," Reuters reported.
Other U.S. leaders have also said more action is planned for the waterway, with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright telling CNN News Central on March 12 that the Strait of Hormuz “will be opened” but “you’ve got to go through short-term pain to solve a long-term problem” by “defanging Iran.”
Wright said Navy escorts will begin after the ships are no longer needed for military purposes.
"All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran's ability to wage war and terrorize the neighborhood,” Wright said. “When we can afford some additional assets to move tankers through the Straits of Hormuz, we will do that. That's coming."
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Still, Iran leadership maintains the waterway is closed and has threatened more action to keep it that way. At least 16 tankers and other vessels have come under attack from Iran since the U.S.-Israeli war on the country began Feb. 28, USA TODAY reported.
In his first message through state media Thursday, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would continue as a means of pressuring the enemy.
"The leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used," Khamenei said.
Adding onto Khamenei's message, Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iran’s navy, threatened the “harshest blows” to keep the key channel for oil shipments closed.
“In response to the order of the Commander-in-Chief, while maintaining the strategy of keeping the #StraitofHormuz closed, we will deliver the harshest blows to the aggressor enemy,” Tangsiri said on social media.
USA TODAY's Francesca Chambers, Michael Loria, Zac Anderson, Jeanine Santucci, Janet Loehrke, Ramon Padilla, George Petras and Bart Jansen contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the Strait of Hormuz? Oil waterway closed amid US-Iran War
Source: “AOL Breaking”
