The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz escalated again on Saturday (April 18, 2026) as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
Why is the Strait of Hormuz critical to global energy flows? | Explained
The strait is closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said on Saturday night, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered as cooperation with the enemy” and be targeted.
New attacks on the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, threatened to deepen the global energy crisis and push the countries into renewed conflict as the war entered its eighth week.
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