For decades, the Strait of Hormuz has functioned as both a vital artery for global energy shipments and a recurring flashpoint in Middle Eastern confrontations. This narrow waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, forms the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. A significant portion of the world’s seaborne oil trade and a large share of liquefied natural gas move through its waters.
For several Gulf countries — including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates — the strait represents the sole maritime route for their exports. Any sustained disruption would send severe supply shortages rippling through energy markets in Europe and Asia, making the waterway a perennial concern for governments and markets alike.
Historical Patterns of Escalation
The use of the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic lever in Iran’s geopolitical strategy is well documented. During the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, both nations attacked oil tankers in the region in a campaign that became known as the Tanker War.
That phase of the conflict, running from 1984 to 1987, drew direct international attention when the United States launched Operation Earnest Will from 1987 to 1988. The operation was designed to protect Kuwaiti tankers from attacks, marking a significant U.S. naval intervention in the Persian Gulf. Despite the high tensions of that era, the strait had never been closed for an extended period during Middle East conflicts. Decades later, the pattern of using the waterway as a bargaining chip reemerged.
In 2011 and 2012, Iran threatened to close the strait in response to U.S. and European Union sanctions that targeted its oil exports. Those threats did not result in a full closure, but they underscored Tehran’s willingness to leverage the chokepoint in confrontations with the West.
The location of the strait gives any country that controls the northern shore a powerful economic and military bargaining chip, a reality that has repeatedly drawn global attention.
Tanker Attacks and Seizures in 2019
The pattern escalated again after the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear deal, in 2018. The following year, Iran was accused of attacking oil tankers near the strait. In June 2019, two tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, an incident that the U.S. and several other nations attributed to Iran.
Tehran denied responsibility, but the episode raised alarms about the safety of commercial shipping in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. In July 2019, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz.
The move came after British forces had detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar earlier that month, escalating a tit-for-tat confrontation between London and Tehran. The Stena Impero was held for over two months before being released. In response to these events, the United States formed the International Maritime Security Construct in 2019.
This multinational coalition was established to patrol the region and protect commercial vessels transiting the strait and surrounding waters. The IMSC, as it is known, included contributions from several allied nations and represented a concerted effort to deter further Iranian interference with shipping.
As of July 2026, the region remains a focus of international attention, with the IMSC continuing its patrols and the underlying tensions between Iran and the West unresolved. The history of the Strait of Hormuz as a lever in geopolitical strategy spans from the Tanker War of the 1980s to the threats of closure in 2012 and the tanker attacks and seizures of 2019. What to watch next is whether any new incidents in the strait will prompt further diplomatic or military responses from the U.S. and its partners.
The waterway’s security directly affects global energy supplies and prices, ensuring that any disruption would ripple through economies worldwide and keep the Strait of Hormuz a central concern for governments and markets alike.
