U.S. strikes Iran after Hormuz attacks, Tehran threatens response
The United States military carried out strikes on Iranian targets after Iranian forces attacked commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with reports indicating over 80 targets were hit in the initial round of retaliatory strikes.
Iran's Foreign Ministry stated that the United States had repeatedly violated the memorandum of understanding agreed between the two sides and threatened retaliation.
Iranian forces reportedly targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to the American strikes, risking a renewed cycle of escalation.
The exchange of fire came less than three weeks after a memorandum of understanding was signed to pause hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, threatening to unravel that framework.
The Strait of Hormuz as a Global Energy Chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow maritime passage separating Iran from Oman and the United Arab Emirates, linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and onward to the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest, the shipping channel is only a few kilometres wide, making it one of the world's most consequential energy chokepoints.
Key Details
- Roughly 20 million barrels of oil and condensate pass through the strait daily, accounting for about a quarter of global seaborne oil trade.
- Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, Iran, and Kuwait together account for the overwhelming majority of crude and condensate volumes transiting the strait.
- India is among the largest destination markets for oil moving through the strait, though recent diversification has reduced the share of India's total crude imports routed through Hormuz to well under half, with a growing share now sourced via other routes.
- The strait has no viable alternative sea route for Gulf oil producers at comparable capacity, unlike some other trade chokepoints with practical bypasses.
The attacks on commercial shipping in the strait strike directly at this chokepoint function, threatening to disrupt a channel through which a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade — and a substantial share of India's crude imports — normally flows.
UNCLOS, Transit Passage, and Iran's Contested Claims
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982), straits used for international navigation between one part of the high seas/exclusive economic zone and another are subject to the "transit passage" regime under Articles 37-38, which guarantees continuous and expeditious passage to all ships and aircraft — a stronger right than the more restrictive "innocent passage" regime that applies in territorial seas generally.
Key Details
- Transit passage rights are considered part of customary international law and are treated as binding even on states, like Iran and the United States, that are not parties to UNCLOS.
- Iran has periodically invoked its own domestic law asserting a right to require prior authorisation for military vessel passage, a position inconsistent with the transit passage regime as understood by most other states.
- The Strait of Hormuz falls within Iranian and Omani territorial waters, but the transit passage regime overrides the option of suspension that exists for innocent passage in ordinary territorial seas.
- Disruption of transit passage by a coastal state is broadly regarded internationally as inconsistent with UNCLOS obligations, regardless of the political justification offered.
Iran's attacks on shipping in the strait — and the earlier memorandum of understanding's explicit provision to "reopen" the strait to commercial shipping — reflect the recurring tension between the internationally recognised transit passage regime and Iran's periodic assertions of control over the waterway.
India's Energy Security and Alternative Corridors
India imports the large majority of its crude oil, historically making Gulf supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz central to its energy security calculus. In response to recurring instability in the strait, India has pursued diversification of both suppliers and routes.
Key Details
- India has increased crude oil sourcing from outside the Gulf region, including from Russia and the Americas, reducing (though not eliminating) reliance on Hormuz-transiting supply.
- The Chabahar Port in Iran, under a 10-year operating agreement signed by an Indian company in May 2024, and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connecting India to Central Asia and Russia via Iran, represent India's alternative connectivity investments in the region, distinct from and unaffected by the Hormuz shipping lane itself.
- India maintains Strategic Petroleum Reserves at Vishakhapatnam, Mangalore, and Padur as a buffer against short-term supply disruptions from chokepoints such as Hormuz.
- India has historically maintained working relationships with both Gulf Arab states and Iran, a balancing position tested whenever US-Iran tensions escalate.
Renewed hostilities around Hormuz underscore why India has pursued both physical route diversification (Chabahar, INSTC) and reserve-based buffers (Strategic Petroleum Reserves) to manage the exposure created by any disruption to this single chokepoint.
- The Strait of Hormuz carries an estimated 20 million barrels of oil per day, about 25% of global seaborne oil trade.
- The disrupted memorandum of understanding was signed roughly three weeks before this escalation, establishing a ceasefire framework and providing for reopening the strait to commercial shipping.
- Reported US strikes hit more than 80 targets in the initial retaliatory round.
- UNCLOS Articles 37-38 establish the transit passage regime for international straits such as Hormuz.
- India signed a 10-year agreement to operate Chabahar Port in Iran in May 2024, part of its INSTC connectivity strategy.
- India maintains Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities at Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, and Padur.