The Strait of Hormuz: A Global War on Energy

Katie Leslie

Introduction:

On February 28, 2026, the world’s attention turned to Israel and the United States, who began to bomb Iran to destroy missile and military centers while targeting and successfully killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As Israel and the U.S. continue to strike Iran, the conflict has become a full-on war affecting diplomatic relations and the world economy. Neighboring countries in the Gulf region, such as Lebanon, are also experiencing strikes and devastating violence as the fighting spreads throughout the Middle East. One of the most notable developments, the obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz, has greatly disrupted global energy supply and economic stability. 20 percent of all oil and natural gas in the world passes through the Strait, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps’s recent threats to attack any vessels in the area has led to higher oil prices. With no clear end in sight, the war’s impact on energy worsens as fighting and the Strait’s blockage withholds global oil and gas supply. However, potential benefits arise from such limited energy supply as it encourages states to consider renewable and clean sources like solar and nuclear while curbing oil usage to maintain their domestic reserves.    

The Resulting Energy Crisis:

The Strait of Hormuz lies between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Its position renders it a major point of contact and trade, where states around the world exchange and transport the energy resources abundant to the area. Due to the ongoing conflict and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s control over ships passing through the strait, regular traffic has decreased by 95 percent. The lack of consistent transportation produces substantial oil and gas shortages that affect numerous countries. Although Iran reported on March 24 that it will allow “non-hostile” ships to pass through the Strait, traffic remains slow and far from normal levels. To worsen matters, Israel and U.S. strikes target Iranian energy infrastructure and oil refineries, which further reduces the amount of available oil from the gulf to other nations. Around 400 million barrels of oil are now off the market due to the war. As a result, prices have increased by 50 percent, hitting the Asian markets hardest as they receive most of their oil from the Gulf. This economic consequence of the war also impacts food security as fertilizers, necessary for crop production, that pass through the Strait are suspended alongside energy resources.

The limitation on transport and movement in the Strait of Hormuz affects some countries more than others, with many scrambling for ways to offset the scarcity. Despite the damaging effects, states’ strategies to deal with current oil shortages may have a long-term environmental benefit as they look to alternative fuel sources or limit oil use in general. 

The Countries Most Impacted and How They Are Coping:

The states experiencing the most hardship from the Strait’s restricted traffic are China, Japan, and India. As regular customers of the Gulf’s oil, they have needed to look elsewhere, either in domestic sources or international support, to make up for the energy loss. With a high concentration of its oil and gas imports originating from the Middle East, China has focused more on their relations with Russia and the U.S. to diversify its energy sources. Last year, 87 percent of the country’s oil came from Iran, so the recent war creates concerns for China’s oil dependency. The state is also resorting to green forms of energy such as solar to both boost their industrial power on the world stage and to spread their energy dependence to other suppliers besides Iran and Venezuela. 

On the other hand, neighboring Japan imports 100 percent of oil and natural gas, which makes the war in Iran and the Strait’s condition a significant threat. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi claims that they have enough oil in storage, about 250 days of supply, to manage with the delays from the Gulf. However, Japan still has reason to worry as its natural gas storage only lasts about 12 days, which also relies on the Strait of Hormuz to reach Japan. Further south in India, parallels with China appear in the state’s frequent trading with Russia, who supplies oil at low rates as the ongoing war in Ukraine subjects the state to global sanctions. The U.S. suggestion of tariffs on India for collaborating with Russia has led to an increasing proportion of its oil imports coming from the Gulf. Regardless, India’s reliance on Russia continues in order to meet its need of 87 percent of crude oil imports. With both Iran and Russia involved in warfare, these sources of energy remain unstable for India. Domestic storage also cannot promise enough oil for the country, which may only hold 20 to 25 days of supply. Another similarity to China is India’s more notable commitment to renewables and clean energy goals. In this light, India hopes to meet its population’s great demand for energy and achieve decarbonization for its own economic success and to diversify energy sources. 

The war in Iran and its impact on the Strait of Hormuz worsens oil and natural gas’s already finite nature and pushes the entire international community to ration its energy reserves or find alternatives. In Thailand, civil servants are being asked to delay overseas travel and even use stairs over elevators to curtail energy usage. Western Europe has also felt the ramifications as the United Kingdom’s energy contingency plan proposes lowering speed limits. Although these are only a few examples from around the world, they reflect the vast reach of the war in Iran and its incidental effect on the global economy’s stability.  

Conclusion:

As the war in Iran carries on simultaneously with the war between Ukraine and Russia, the threat to oil and gas supply has reached an unprecedented level. Following the threatened attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for 20 percent of all oil and gas supply, a global energy crisis continues to unfold as these sources of energy become more scarce. China, Japan, and India, all highly dependent on oil imports from the Gulf region, demonstrate the various ways countries around the world manage and cope with the consequences of the Strait’s impeded traffic. Despite the concerns, there are positive developments to the current pressure to meet energy demands. Many states are taking their first steps toward environmentally-friendly goals to rely on alternative fuel sources. Whether the recent war and weakening relations with oil providers like Russia and Iran will lead to long-term commitments to sustainability and clean energy is a possibility worth watching for.