US signals indefinite naval blockade of Iran as Hormuz tensions spike
US threatens indefinite naval blockade of Iran; Tehran says Hormuz remains closed until conditions met.
Washington has signaled that its naval blockade of Iran could continue indefinitely, as ceasefire efforts stall and the global oil supply outlook worsens. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US Navy can sustain the operation by rotating ships in and out of the region, a tactic already in use.
The move comes amid fresh attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates reported that two vessels belonging to its state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were struck while transiting the waterway on Thursday evening, an act Abu Dhabi condemned as an Iranian attack.
Traffic through the strait has collapsed. Only eight ships passed through on Tuesday, against a 10-day average of about 12 and pre-war levels of 130–140 vessels daily. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the US has "total control" over the strait, but Tehran pushed back on social media, insisting the waterway remains blocked and will not reopen until its conditions are met — chiefly the removal of economic sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
The blockade, briefly lifted in mid-June, has been reimposed, cutting off Iran's main source of hard currency. Washington has said it would lift the blockade if Iran and Oman reach an agreement to restore commercial shipping.
The standoff is compounding pressure on global energy markets. The International Energy Agency now forecasts global oil supply will fall by 4.3 million barrels per day this year — about 4% — a sharper drop than the 3.7 million barrels projected a month ago. Oil prices settled down more than 2% on Thursday, though reports of a drone attack by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on a Saudi Aramco refinery renewed fears of a wider regional conflict.
Trump has threatened further military strikes but has so far avoided ground troops or strikes on strategic islands and desalination plants, suggesting he may lean on economic pressure instead. Domestically, the president faces mounting political costs from a deeply unpopular war, with high fuel prices threatening Republican control of Congress in November's midterms.