Iran Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s Parliament has agreed to a plan to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a very important waterway for global oil shipments. The final call now depends on Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. This big decision came soon after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in response to the ongoing fight between Iran and Israel. Although those strikes didn’t lead to any radiation issues, they have made the entire West Asia region more tense and uncertain.
Iran has said it might hit back, possibly by attacking US military bases in the Gulf area. And the idea of blocking the Strait of Hormuz looks more serious now than ever before. This narrow stretch of water moves nearly 20 million barrels of oil every day, which is about 20% of the oil the whole world uses daily, reported ZEE Business.
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Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Aragchi, said Iran has “a variety of options” and will defend itself “by all means necessary.” On the other side, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned China not to support Iran, saying it would be “economic suicide” for them because China depends a lot on oil that comes through this strait.
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Why is the Strait of Hormuz Important?
The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea route that connects oil-rich Gulf countries to the open ocean. It’s very narrow just 33 kilometers at its tightest point—and ships move in two lanes, only 3 kilometers wide each. Nearly 50 big oil tankers were seen trying to move out of the Strait as the situation got more uncertain.
The US Energy Information Administration shared that in 2024 and early 2025, over one-fourth of all oil shipped by sea and 1/5th of all oil consumed in the world went through this waterway. That’s how important it is. Oil and gold prices have already reacted to the rising tensions.
Brent crude oil shot up by more than 10% and reached $77 per barrel, with experts saying it might even go as high as $90 if the Strait gets blocked. Gold also jumped by over 2% as people looked for safer investments. It might soon touch $3,500 an ounce, while silver may not rise as much because its use is more industrial and tied to fuel costs.
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India’s trouble
India is one of the countries that could face serious trouble. India gets more than 2/3rd of its oil and almost half of its natural gas through the Strait. From the 5.5 million barrels India uses daily, about 1.5 million barrels come through this route. If this path is closed, it will hurt India’s economy.
Foreign policy expert Robinder Sachdev warned that oil prices could push inflation higher and may slow India’s GDP by 0.5% for every $10 increase in crude prices. Still, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri sounded hopeful. He said, “There is enough oil available in global markets,” and that more supply is coming from other regions.
Some countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have built pipelines to move oil over land, but they can only handle less than half of what passes through the Strait. So, even if these routes are used, the impact of closing the Strait would still be huge. It would slow down deliveries, increase transport costs, and make insurance for shipments much more expensive.
India has tried to reduce this risk by buying more oil from Russia. By May 2025, Russian oil made up 38% of India’s imports, compared to just 1% back in early 2022. This oil doesn’t need to go through the Strait. But even with new supply sources, India still depends a lot on the global market, where prices go up or down together.
The US says it hit Iranian nuclear sites to send a message and to get Iran back to talks. But Iran has kept firing missiles at Israel. US Secretary of State Rubio has asked China to help stop Iran from closing the Strait, pointing out that China’s economy depends on that oil route too.
