What Is the Strait of Hormuz and Why Is It at the Center of the Iran War?

“This is really what we always refer to as [Iran’s] nuclear option in a figurative sense. Before, it wasn’t really a usable option, because they are also vulnerable [if the Strait is disrupted],” adds Eisenstadt.

“The U.S. could easily totally destroy [Iran’s] oil production capability,” he continues, but that threat might not work. “Iran could say ‘if we can’t export oil, nobody does.” 

Iran has threatened to close and restrict the Strait on numerous occasions.

During the Iran-Iraq conflict in the 1980s, the “Tanker War” saw both Iran and Iraq launch hundreds of attacks against oil tankers and vessels in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. 

The attacks in the Tanker War were much worse, experts note, in terms of the number of vessels struck and destroyed.

“You had hundreds of ships that were hit,” says Krane. “But the impact on the global economy was not nearly as dire. Current attacks are having a much larger impact on oil markets in the global economy with much less hostile action by Iran.”