Overview
- Commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply reduced with the British maritime authority UKMTO reporting continued IRGC attacks and a persistent risk from drifting or uncharted mines.
- The U.S. publicly insists it controls the waterway while CENTCOM said it struck a tanker with an MH‑60 helicopter using Hellfire missiles after repeated warnings were ignored, a clash that underlines tense U.S. enforcement at sea.
- Iran’s new Strait authority (PGSA) and senior officials say the channel will remain closed until Tehran’s political demands are met, including an end to U.S. hostilities, release of frozen funds and compensation for war damage.
- Analysts and Pentagon‑adjacent sources report heavy consumption of high-end interceptors such as Patriot and THAAD missiles, leaving U.S. stocks strained and raising questions about how long sustained air‑defence operations can continue.
- The disruption has pushed Brent above roughly $90 a barrel and, together with intensified Huthi attacks in the Red Sea, is widening the risk to other chokepoints while Oman-led mediation seeks a technical shipping deal that still lacks major political concessions.