Name: The Strait of Hormuz and the massive, international impacts of its closure
Uploaded: 2026-03-18T23:01:21.000Z
Duration: 5 min 13 s
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The troubled waters of the Strait of Hormuz have quickly shifted much of the world's focus.

And while some Asian nations are most reliant on it, the US Might be hit with a slow drip impact.

Our Marcus Moore has this story for us tonight.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.

From now on, all navigating through the Strait of Hormuz is forbidden.

No ship in every tide is not allowed to pass from a state of Hormuz.

Till next notice, that message broadcast across these waters in the Persian Gulf ominous enough to calm the wakes that normally glide from passing ships here.

Almost all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is ground to a halt.

And while this water remains peaceful, parts of the region it commands are on fire.

Since this war began, at least 16 ships have come under attack in these waters near the Strait of Hormuz.

Under a moonlit sky just off the coast of Iraq, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard claims to have struck the safe sea Vishnu, seen here in video circulating online.

Tucked in their life jackets and floating in murky water, the crew watched as flames engulfed the US owned vessel they had escaped from only moments prior.

Iran flexing its muscle, launching projectiles and planting mines.

They're exerting control over this key route, targeting ships that have passed through the narrow waterway.

Iran vows to strike any ship linked to the us, Israel or their allies that passes through here.

That threat and a spate of attacks have effectively shut down the strait to the world.

The ripple effect staggering and far reaching.

About a fifth of the world's energy passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

And because it's effectively closed, Qatar took the extraordinary step of shutting down gas production here.

And for years leaders across the region have warned that a conflict involving Iran would threaten the Strait.

President Trump now urging other nations to help patrol the strait and keep the vital waterway open for international trade.

We have the strongest military by far in the world.

You know, we get less than 1% of our oil from the strait and some countries get much more.

Many of the Europeans get quite a, quite a bit.

So we want them to come and help us with the strait.

So far, the United nations declining to weigh in.

The impact of a restriction, a closure of the state of Strait of Hormuz.

Cannot be underestimated and the impact that will have around the world, and it is already having.

But we're not going to be feeding the speculation.

The Secretary General will continue to work discreetly on this because, frankly, the stakes are too high.

I think the major concern is for countries who felt that they were perhaps geographically separated and didn't realize just how intricate and interconnected the logistical system of the world is today.

Sheikh Al Anud Al Thani is a Doha native and fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

She's an emerging voice on the state of the region today and says this is a pivotal moment.

As someone who is from this part of the world, you're from Qatar.

Can you give me a sense of how unprecedented is this moment that we are in?

It's been one of the safest regions in the world for many, many years.

And so it's unprecedented for us to get dragged into this conflict and find you at this stage.

I think over 3,000 missiles, drones lobbed in our direction.

The Gulf Cooperation Council is made up of six Gulf countries.

For all of them, the Strait of Hormuz is a lifeline for their economies.

Qatar and UAE move their liquefied natural gas.

Yet it is not just the gas prices rising in the US and elsewhere, but

First is going to be food via fertilizer.

The second is going to be energy, so everything that requires energy in your life.

And the third is going to be semiconductors via Taiwan.

Those three things are going to be the major three effects that everyone is going to feel right away.

Much of that fertilizer that flows through the strait is used to grow crops in Asia.

This is human beings that are going to lose access to vital, essential resources that they rely on for their living and for their survival.

The escalating war is testing a fragile supply chain.

It's the reason leaders in the Gulf are calling for an immediate end to the fighting.

As the conflict enters its third week, it seems no area is immune from its turbulence.

With so much at stake, those in the region and beyond hope for better days ahead.