Iran Announces the Strait of Hormuz is Closed to the US & Israel | For Everyone Else, $2M Please!

TL;DR

Iran formally closed the Strait of Hormuz to the US and Israel while charging other vessels up to $2M in illegal transit fees, threatening 20% of global oil supply.

Key Points

• 1.Iran formally notified the UN it is blocking US and Israeli vessels. The letter cites the February 28th US-Israeli military aggression as justification under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, invoking self-defense rights — though Iran itself has never ratified UNCLOS.
• 2.Iran is charging up to $2 million per voyage as an informal transit toll. Bloomberg reports payments are being sought on an ad hoc basis; some vessels have already paid, though the payment mechanism remains unclear — with no legal basis under international law.
• 3.Ships are routing through Iranian territorial waters between Larak and Qeshm Islands. Marine traffic data shows vessels deliberately avoiding the standard traffic separation scheme, suggesting they have coordinated directly with Iranian authorities for safe passage.
• 4.Iran turned back a container ship, the Seline, en route from UAE to Pakistan. The IRGC Navy claimed responsibility, demonstrating Iran's active enforcement of de facto control over the strait — despite the main passage technically lying within Omani waters.
• 5.The strait closure is choking roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day. Alternative routes — a UAE pipeline to Fujairah under attack and Saudi Arabia's Petroline capped near 1.5M bpd — cannot compensate, pushing US gas prices to $3.96/gallon and diesel to $5.37.
• 6.The US is assembling naval forces but faces severe risks in confined waters. The Triple ARG, Boxer ARG, and Lincoln battle group are converging; options include Marines seizing islands or Arleigh Burke destroyers pushing through, but the 21-mile-wide strait makes ships highly vulnerable to drones and missiles.
• 7.The only real resolution is a US-Iran ceasefire, but getting Israel to agree is uncertain. The host compares the situation to the Suez closure after the 1967 Six-Day War — which lasted 8 years — and notes ships trapped in the Persian Gulf are already calling themselves the 'Yellow Fleet.'