Why the Strait of Hormuz matters: explained simply

What happened

On 28 February 2026 the United States and Israel struck Iran; Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed, and the Assembly of Experts chose Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor on 8 March. Iran retaliated across the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed to tankers, pushing Brent crude above about USD 114 in late March. A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire began on 8 April and a 14-point Islamabad Memorandum was signed on 17 June, but Iran announced the strait closed again on 20 June, and US strikes on IRGC targets began on 1 September, two days after a US strike on Larak Island. As of 2 October 2026, the G7 was still calling for navigation through the strait to be restored.

Why it matters

The strait is the only sea route out of the Persian Gulf, and about a fifth of the world's oil trade passes through it. India imports about 60 percent of the LPG it uses and most of that normally crosses Hormuz, so cooking gas ran short, cylinder prices rose, the rupee hit record lows and airlines warned of shutdowns. For an exam, this joins geography, international law, the UN Security Council and India's energy security.

Timeline

29 Dec2025
Protests in Tehran as the rial hits a record low; central bank governor resigns
13 Jan2026
Protests grow, near-total internet shutdown from 8 January; death toll disputed
17 Feb2026
Iran announces a few-hour partial closure of the strait for an IRGC drill during US-Iran talks; unclear whether traffic actually stopped
28 Feb2026
US and Israel strike Iran (US operation Epic Fury); Khamenei killed
1 Mar2026
Iran confirms Khamenei's death; interim council governs until Mojtaba Khamenei is chosen on 8 March
4 Mar2026
Iranian navy ship IRIS Lavan docks at Kochi on humanitarian grounds
5 Mar2026
US gives Indian refiners a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil already at sea
12 Mar2026
Strait effectively shut to tankers; Brent later tops about USD 114; Iran drafts a passage-fee law
12 Mar2026
LPG shortages in Indian cities; government uses the Essential Commodities Act and raises cylinder prices
12 Mar2026
PM Modi speaks to Iran's President Pezeshkian on safety of Indians and transit of energy
17 Mar2026
Rupee closes at a then-record low of about 92.40 per dollar; 93.53 by 20 March
26 Mar2026
US sends Iran a 15-point peace plan through Pakistan
7 Apr2026
Russia and China veto a UN Security Council resolution on Hormuz shipping (11 for, 2 against, 2 abstaining)
8 Apr2026
Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire begins; Islamabad talks from 11 April end without a deal
11 Apr2026
LPG carrier Jag Vikram is the first Indian-flagged ship through Hormuz after the ceasefire; India summons Iran's envoy on 18 April after gunboats fire on Indian ships
28 Apr2026
Indian airlines warn of a shutdown over jet fuel costs
25 May2026
Iran orders internet restored after a blackout of about 88 days
28 May2026
Negotiators report a tentative 60-day ceasefire extension; Iran disputes the framing
15 Jun2026
Disha becomes the first Indian-flagged LNG carrier to leave the Gulf in more than three months
17 Jun2026
US and Iran sign the 14-point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding; final deal due within 60 days
21 Jun2026
Iran says the strait stays closed until the Lebanon ceasefire is respected and oil waivers are issued
24 Jun2026
IAEA chief Grossi says inspections of Iranian nuclear sites will take place; Iran says access depends on a final deal
14 Jul2026
US drops a proposed 20 percent fee on cargo through the strait a day after announcing it
16 Aug2026
Iran says it and Oman have agreed a shipping route map through the strait; full reopening tied by Iran to US actions
24 Aug2026
US launches the Operation Economic Outcast sanctions campaign on Iran
1 Sep2026
US strikes IRGC targets; Iran says it will return to the Islamabad Memorandum if the US does
18 Sep2026
US President signs the Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (tariff power up to 100 percent on buyers of Russian energy)
2 Oct2026
G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel through the IEA over four months

Words to know

Strait of Hormuz: The narrow sea passage between Iran and Oman's Musandam peninsula that links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. About 33 km wide at its narrowest; about a fifth of world oil trade passes through it.
Supreme Leader of Iran: Iran's head of state, chosen by the Assembly of Experts. Ali Khamenei held the post from 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Khomeini; the President (Masoud Pezeshkian, as of October 2026) is head of government.
IRGC: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's parallel military force formed after the 1979 revolution, which ended the Pahlavi monarchy.
UN Security Council veto: A resolution needs nine of 15 votes and no veto from the five permanent members: the US, UK, France, Russia and China. India has sought a permanent seat in reform debates.
Transit passage (UNCLOS): Part III of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea gives ships the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation.
Brent crude: A benchmark price for crude oil (WTI is the other main benchmark).
Essential Commodities Act 1955: The law India's government used in March 2026 to order refineries to maximise LPG output and control supply.
IEA: International Energy Agency, founded in 1974 after the 1973 oil crisis, headquartered in Paris; it coordinates emergency oil stock releases.
IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog whose safeguards apply to NPT non-nuclear-weapon states. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched to about 90 percent.
Chabahar: An Iranian port that India has invested in developing.

Both sides

Iran's position, as stated through its military command and the state-linked agency Tasnim in June 2026: the strait stays closed until the Lebanon ceasefire is respected and waivers for Iranian oil sales are issued. In August 2026 Iran's foreign ministry tied full reopening to the end of the US naval blockade.

Positions on the other side, each from its own actor: a Bahrain-drafted UN Security Council resolution encouraging coordination to secure shipping through the strait won 11 of 15 votes on 7 April before Russia and China vetoed it; the International Maritime Organization opposed any fees on straits used for international navigation (the US itself proposed and then dropped a 20 percent cargo fee in July); and the G7 statement of 2 October called for navigation through the strait to be restored.

What an exam could ask

Geography of the strait could be asked: which two water bodies it connects, which countries lie on either side, roughly how much oil passes through.
A passage on India's energy security could ask about LPG import dependence, the Essential Commodities Act, Qatar as the largest LNG supplier (as reported in April 2026), and the Ujjwala scheme.
The UN Security Council vote of 7 April could be asked: who vetoed, how many votes a resolution needs, who the five permanent members are.
Iran's political system could be asked: who chooses the Supreme Leader, who the head of government is, and the order of succession in 2026.
Legal reasoning could use UNCLOS transit passage or the dropped US fee on strait cargo as a principle-and-facts problem.

Angles to revise, not predictions.

Sources

Written from fact-checked news and red-teamed. Errors can occur: verify important facts with official sources.