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Why Iran Has Trump Cornered in the Strait of Hormuz

Tehran has shown that a narrow stretch of water can humble a superpower and upend the global economy

Before March of 2026, the Strait of Hormuz was a location that you probably wouldn’t encounter outside of a geography textbook. The waterway between the Oman and Persian Gulfs provides passage for around a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply. But for half a year, it has become the centre of the world’s greatest geopolitical crisis.

After the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, the Strait of Hormuz has been rendered a strategic vulnerability—or, in other words, a “choke point.” By shuttering the free-flowing travel of ships across this channel, Iran has unleashed historic shocks to the world economy. In early March, the International Energy Agency said the war was “creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” Countries have been forced to dip into strategic oil reserves as they have scrambled for alternative energy sources and trade routes. Oil prices have since risen well over $100 (US) per barrel. The United States, the world’s most powerful naval force, has been blunted by a waterway not even fifty kilometres long at its narrowest point.

After a short-lived ceasefire in June, the US and Iran resumed trading attacks. Although fighting briefly subsided in late July, there is still no lasting settlement in sight, even as negotiations continue. The inescapable root of this conflict is the Strait of Hormuz. In a world where even more global trade routes have been weaponized, “choke points” has entered the vernacular.

A month into the war, I spoke with Edward Fishman, a former American diplomat who helped to popularize the term. Last year, Fishman wrote a book about other choke points that America has used to shape modern economic warfare: one less dependent on conventional armaments or military force and more on strong-arming enemies through tariffs, trade sanctions, and supply chain advantages.

Economic pressure has been US president Donald Trump’s preferred method of foreign policy, but Iran’s firm control over the Strait of Hormuz has stunted his efforts. Through low-cost drones and munitions, Iran has........

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