Tehran’s move could block one-fifth of global oil trade as tensions escalate over U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

Iran’s parliament has approved a motion to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply passes each day, the New York Post reported Sunday.

The decision, which still awaits final approval from Iran’s Supreme Council, could significantly disrupt global energy markets and escalate tensions in the Gulf region.

Iranian state media said the Supreme Council would decide on the measure by Sunday night.

If enacted, the move would halt approximately $1 billion in daily oil shipments and is expected to send global oil prices soaring.

The proposed closure follows a series of Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure in recent days.

Speaking on state television, Revolutionary Guards Commander Esmail Kosari warned that Iran’s response “will be done whenever necessary,” signaling the closure could mark a major escalation in the ongoing conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is one of the world’s most strategically sensitive waterways.

At its narrowest, the strait is just 20 miles wide, with usable shipping lanes in each direction only two miles across — a vulnerability that has made it a repeated flashpoint in past conflicts.

The channel is also shallow and easily mined, adding to concerns about its security.

The vast majority of oil exports from key producers including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Qatar pass through the strait.

A shutdown would disproportionately affect major importers such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea — especially China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil and a key Tehran ally at the UN.

Despite the vote, international law does not grant Iran the authority to unilaterally close the strait, which is considered an international waterway.

Any attempt to enforce a blockade would likely draw a military response.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, maintains a constant naval presence in the region alongside allied vessels from European and Asian countries.

The move also threatens to backfire economically on Iran.

Tehran relies heavily on the strait to export its own crude, and closing the waterway would cut off one of its few remaining lifelines amid international sanctions.

This is not the first time Iran has sought to assert control over the strait.

In April 2023, Iranian forces seized an Israel-linked container ship and, days later, a U.S.-bound tanker, citing maritime violations.

In 2022, Iran held two Greek tankers for six months in apparent retaliation for the seizure of its oil by Greek and American authorities.

The threat also comes amid broader regional instability.

On the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, Houthi rebels in Yemen — aligned with Iran — have previously disrupted shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait leading to the Red Sea.

Missile and drone attacks have forced shipping companies to reroute around Africa, cutting Red Sea traffic by 70% in June compared to 2022 and 2023, according to Clarkson Research Services.

If the Hormuz closure proceeds, global shipping could face a dual crisis, with both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf effectively choked off.

That would force more vessels to make the costly and time-consuming detour around the Cape of Good Hope — potentially triggering widespread economic ripple effects far beyond the Middle East.

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The Houthis announced that they would target every Israel-bound ship in the Red Sea.

By Charles Bybelezer, TPS

An anti-ship cruise missile fired from an area in Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists struck a commercial vessel in the Bab al-Mandab Strait,the southern gate of Red Sea, on Monday night, the U.S. military announced on Tuesday morning.

The attack caused a fire and damage but no casualties.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that there were no American ships in the vicinity of the attack, but that the USS Mason responded to the tanker Strinda‘s distress call and rendered assistance.

On Saturday, the Houthis announced that they would target every Israel-bound ship in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have recently targeted ships with Israeli owners—the Galaxy Leader, which was brought to the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, and the Central Park, whose hijacking was thwarted by USS Mason. During the hijacking of Central Park, a missile was fired at the Mason from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.

From bases along the Yemeni coast, Houthi rebels are able to threaten shipping in the Red Sea as vessels traverse the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow maritime choke point between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. The majority of the world’s oil passes through the strait from the Indian Ocean towards the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Saturday night that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Joe Biden that Jerusalem would take military action against the Houthis if the Americans did not act first.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Houthis have launched several ballistic and cruise missiles at the Jewish state.

Israel has bolstered its naval presence in the Red Sea area in response to the attacks.

Late last month, an Israeli-owned commercial vessel, the CMA CGM Symi, was attacked by an Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean.

The Malta-flagged Symi was targeted by a “Shahed-136” drone while traveling in international waters. The “suicide” drone caused damage to the ship but no casualties among the crew.

Iranian-backed militia groups have also been attacking U.S. interests in the region after Washington gave backing to Israel’s war against Hamas in the wake of the terror group’s Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel.

On Friday, the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad was struck with seven mortar rounds, and American forces in Iraq and Syria were targeted at least five more times with rockets and drones.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility for the attacks in a statement.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella term for Iranian-backed radical Shi’ite militias in Iraq—Kata’ib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhadaa.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned Friday’s attacks during a call with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

“The United States reserves the right to respond decisively against those groups,” Austin told Sudani, according to a Pentagon readout of the call.

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