This natural-color image, acquired by the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite on Feb. 5, 2025, shows the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo: NASA Earth Observatory/AFP)
What began as a broadening regional confrontation has, in effect, narrowed to a few dozen kilometers of water through which nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day — along with a critical share of global trade — typically pass. Despite a two-week truce between Washington and Tehran, intended to set the stage for negotiations, the Strait of Hormuz has not fully reopened, and both sides remain on alert.By keeping this passage under pressure, Iran is able to impose costs not only on the United States and its Gulf partners but also on the global economy, thereby strengthening its hand ahead of talks scheduled this week in Islamabad. For Washington, by contrast, reopening the strait has become both a strategic imperative and a political issue.Washington considers its optionsThe United States insists that its priority remains the reopening of...
What began as a broadening regional confrontation has, in effect, narrowed to a few dozen kilometers of water through which nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day — along with a critical share of global trade — typically pass. Despite a two-week truce between Washington and Tehran, intended to set the stage for negotiations, the Strait of Hormuz has not fully reopened, and both sides remain on alert.By keeping this passage under pressure, Iran is able to impose costs not only on the United States and its Gulf partners but also on the global economy, thereby strengthening its hand ahead of talks scheduled this week in Islamabad. For Washington, by contrast, reopening the strait has become both a strategic imperative and a political issue.Washington considers its optionsThe United States insists that its priority remains the...
'American sponsorship is a guarantee,' says Lebanese-American coordination committee