US-Iran ceasefire hinges on Strait of Hormuz. Why is it so important?
Iran has used access to the key waterway as leverage in its fight against the United States and Israel, driving up fuel prices and causing the global economy to wobble.
President Donald Trump on April 7 agreed to stop bombing Iran on the condition that the country relinquishes its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping lane that affects the global oil economy that has proved to be a point of contention throughout the Iran war and shaky peace negotiations.
The strait is a 100-mile-long waterway that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Some 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas supply passes through the narrow channel. Since the launch of the war on Feb. 28, Iran has responded to strikes by effectively blocking traffic through the strait.
Iran’s move to turn the strait into a strategic pressure point in its fight against the U.S. and Israel has become perhaps the key issue of the war. Gas prices have spiked. The impact of the strait’s closure on financial markets has caused the global economy to wobble, and the president turned apoplectic as his popularity sank amid Iran’s closure of the waterway.
"Open the F------ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell," the president wrote in an 8 a.m. social media post on Easter Sunday, threatening to blow up Iranian civilian infrastructure if the strait were not opened by April 7.
Around the time Trump announced the ceasefire, the average price of a gallon of gas across the U.S. had risen to $4.16 per gallon, up from $2.82 at the start of the year. Financial markets were thousands of points below where they were before the war though they responded positively to the announcement.
Leaders on both sides are signaling any lasting peace will depend on access to the strait.
"Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump wrote in his ceasefire announcement.
Iran in turn has promised to allow shipping traffic to resume "if attacks on Iran are halted."
"If attacks on Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations," said Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a statement. "For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations."
Israel also agreed to observe the ceasefire pending access to the strait, a White House official confirmed to USA TODAY.
Peace talks have faltered since entering the initial, fragile ceasefire agreement, however, with negotiations failing between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad on April 12. In the hours since, Trump said the U.S. Navy will start blockading the vital waterway, a move that would further escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf.
In back-to-back posts made to social media early April 12, Trump described the blockade as "effective immediately" and said Iran "better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST," describing the ongoing blocking as "world extortion."
The president also wrote that the U.S. would interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran to pass through the shipping route. Trump has previously said he would oppose any Iran-controlled tolls placed on ships allowed to pass through the chokepoint, and has floated the idea of the United States, instead, charging tolls.
"No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas," Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 12. "We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"
Trump's latest comments join the recent array of messages about the waterway and U.S. action in the area, including saying on social media April 11 that the United States is "clearing out" the Strait of Hormuz, though the president and other officials did not release any specific timeline or details of the reopening.
In an interview with Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures," Trump spoke about the blockade’s timeline but offered little information or clarity as to when it will go into effect. He told host Maria Bartiromo it will be a "complete blockade" and it "will take a little while, but it’ll be effective pretty soon."
Another worry surrounding the strait is the potential threat of sea mines, which detonate when a ship passes by, makes contact, or triggers it. While Trump's social media posts say that there might be a lingering presence of mines placed in the strait by Iran, the president told Fox News that the U.S. now has minesweepers in the area, suggesting they will be able to knock out the underwater explosives.
Still, it is unclear when the U.S. blockade will begin. It is also unknown when negotiations might start again between the U.S. and Iran or how the delicate ceasefire will fare.
This story has been updated to add new information.