STRAIT OF HORMUZ — U.S. forces boarded and seized an Iran-bound container ship near the Strait of Hormuz on April 19, escalating to direct interdiction of Iranian-linked shipping as part of a maritime blockade. Iranian forces seized two ships three days later, on April 22.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has declined since the interdictions began. Approximately 25% of the world's seaborne oil and about 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas pass through the waterway. Insurance costs for transiting the strait have increased, holding back trade.

Washington has established a $40 billion maritime insurance fund to encourage and secure maritime trade through the region. Neither Iran nor the United States has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and international maritime law regarding the Strait of Hormuz remains ambiguous and unevenly enforced. Few international bodies or countries are positioned to provide neutral mediation over disputes in the strait.

Weeks of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, backed by Gulf partners, have failed to decisively degrade Iranian military capabilities or destabilize the government in Tehran. Iran has been unable to force an American retreat. Operation Epic Fury, which aimed to dismantle Iran's security infrastructure, encountered constraints that indicate a new operating reality in the age of mass drones and ballistic missiles. U.S. naval forces are now exposed to Iran's arsenal of low-cost drones and ballistic missiles.

The current crisis has been compared to attacks on shipping in the strait during the Iran–Iraq war in the 1980s. During that conflict, the U.S. Navy escorted tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, allowed foreign vessels to reflag as American, retaliated when its forces were targeted, and prompted Baghdad and Tehran to scale back attacks. Those operations cemented Washington's role as the global guarantor of maritime trade.

U.S. energy imports have diversified away from Middle Eastern sources, complemented by increasing domestic production. Disruption to traditional resource flows and elevated oil prices have benefited U.S. producers and exporters. The global Western enforcement architecture supporting American maritime dominance is under strain as tensions persist within the transatlantic alliance.