Iran threatens Strait of Hormuz closure after attack

After the attack against Iran, the terrorist nation tried to strike back with the only real leverage it has against the United States, which would be to slow the flow of oil into the country by closing down the Strait of Hormuz.  

Iran has already voted in favor of this action, but just how damaging would it be?  

Shut it down 

The United States still relies heavily on foreign oil thanks to the Biden administration putting the boot on the throat of the fossil fuel industry.  

Roughly 20% of the entire world’s oil supply travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran’s just voted in favor of shutting down.  

At its narrowest point, the straight is only about two miles wide, making ships vulnerable to attack if Iran sees fit.  

Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, explained, “Their primary approach would involve rapidly deploying naval mines across the shipping lanes — this is their most effective tool for immediate disruption. They’d simultaneously launch anti-ship missiles from mobile coastal batteries like their Ghader and Nasir systems, targeting oil tankers from distances up to [185 miles].” 

Who does this hurt? 

If the Strait were closed, it would have an impact on the United States, but not in the same way it would impact some of our allies, since we don’t get our oil directly from Iran. However, we do import about 11% of our crude from other countries that travels through that waterway.  

Most of the oil that comes through that area goes to China, India, and South Korea, but two of those three countries are United States' allies, so that is where the US comes into play.  

China gets about 80% of its oil from Iran, so we have to assume that oil would be permitted to pass through, but I am sure Iran would try to squeeze India and South Korea.  

This would also put a squeeze on the overall global supply, which would clearly raise the prices and create fuel shortages all over the world.  

Iran strikes back 

Let’s hope that Iran does not follow through with its threat to close the Strait after carrying out an announced retaliatory strike against the United States.  

Iran launched missiles at a US base in Qatar, with all but one of the missiles being taken out, and the one stray landing in an area that did not cause any harm.  

According to reports, Iran provided early warning, and there were no injuries. I have also seen reports that Iran was satisfied with this strike, and it is not looking to escalate tensions any further.  

I am not sure how much we can trust Iran on this front, but if they do not follow up on the threat to close the Strait, I think it would be a great show of good faith that they really want to come to the table to end this war and come to a nuclear agreement. Let’s just hope Iran has come to its senses that it has very little leverage and doom awaits if it decides to try to get cute with a sneak attack against the United States.