Hormuz

Strategy or physical withdrawal: What does Washington’s shift from airstrikes to sanctions signify?

Despite the apparent success of the US’s blockade and sanctions campaign, Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed that they would not falter in maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks to the media with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent behind him, on the day of a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent takes questions from reporters as he speaks during a press conference in Washington, DC on August 24, 2026. Bessent, in a column for the Financial Times, declared that an "economic D-Day" had begun against Tehran on Monday.

Iran economic sanctions leading to extremist regime elements gaining power, dissident says - report

Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, April 24, 2026.

Several oil companies to avoid using ships on Iran's blacklist over security concerns, sources say

STRAIT OF HORMUZ, OMAN/IRAN -- JUNE 16, 2026: 01 -- Maps4media-processed Sentinel-2 satellite imagery shows a broad overview of the Strait of Hormuz, including the Musandam Peninsula, nearby islands, coastal shallows, and the narrow maritime corridor linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

Iran's Strait of Hormuz strategy exposes the limits of destruction - opinion


Iran advances plan to charge vessels fees for Strait of Hormuz passage

Under Articles 38 and 44 of UNCLOS, Iran cannot suspend, impede, or charge tolls for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, April 24, 2026.

Trump declares Strait of Hormuz as 'new US territory,' day after MoU deadline expires

When asked whether he was working to extend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Trump declined to answer and shook his head no.

US President Donald Trump's Truth Social post declaring Strait of Hormuz a new US territory, August 18, 2026.

'We won the war, won diplomacy': Araghchi says Iran pushed US war so it could control ceasefire

Araghchi concluded by saying that "those who tried to impose unconditional surrender on Iran begged for negotiations shortly after the war began."

FOREIGN MINISTER of Iran Abbas Araghchi, and Speaker of Iran Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf with the delegation of Iran at the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026.

Trump confirms IRGC backchannel, threatens to 'bomb the s***' out of Oman if it 'gets in the way'

Later on Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran won't make the deal he thinks is needed, and that Washington will not extend the MoU.

US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 7, 2026

US-Iran talks hit new impasse as MoU's 60-day deadline expires with no deal

On Monday afternoon, Saudi news channel Al Arabiya reported that the US and Iran have agreed to extend a 60-day ceasefire.

A person holds a placard representing a US flag, with an image of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on a billboard in the background, on the day of a ceremony marking 40 days since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2026.

Shipping slows through Strait of Hormuz after tanker attacks, data shows

Some ships may pass through undetected with transponders off, but the figures are far from the more than 130 ships a day that traversed the Strait of Hormuz before the war.

This image shows the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The Strait of Hormuz runs between Iran and United Arab Emirates, 2004.

Iran claims control of Strait of Hormuz, rejecting Trump’s claim of US total dominance

The remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the US had "total control" of the strategic waterway.

A person wades in the water as ships are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on August 10, 2026 off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Hormuz blockade is 'worse than war’: Iranian official says US blockade would cost Iran $18 billion

“We must not get used to the blockade as we did with sanctions,” Majidreza Hariri told Iranian site Khabar Online. “We should impose the cost of lifting the blockade on the US, even through war."

US forces operating in the Strait of Hormuz, July 17, 2026.

Trump returns to an old weapon: Behind US's decision to economically choke Iran - analysis

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month that the administration’s economic policy had sent the Iranian currency into "free fall" and pushed inflation into triple-digit rates.

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 9, 2026.

Gulf states pay the price as shipping crisis exposes costly dependence on the Strait of Hormuz

"A lot of the necessities, and I'm talking food, that these Gulf nations require - Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia - comes in by boat," and flying in goods is causing prices to rise.

The sun sets behind the Doha skyline on August 4, 2026.