Iran Claims It Has ‘Closed’ Strait of Hormuz, Threatening a Fifth of World’s Oil Supply

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is now closed and any ships attempting passage will be attacked, but the American military says it has wiped out all Iranian warships in the Gulf of Oman.“Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO,” U.S. Central Command said in a post on X. Even without warships, Iran could still attack tankers with drones and missiles, however.About a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the strait and a prolonged closure could have major impacts on energy costs across the globe. Most ships had already stopped crossing the Strait in response to the joint American-Israeli attacks on Iran.Iran has previously threatened to disrupt traffic in the waters but has never fully shut it down. Energy prices spiked on Monday over concerns about supply disruptions due to the war.Europe is a major importer of oil and gas. The European Commission says it is reinforcing monitoring of disruption risks. In a statement on Monday, the commission said it is closely tracking price and supply developments. It added that it will convene an energy task force this week.President Trump said American forces are ahead of schedule with military operations against the Iranian regime in his first public comments since the attacks were first launched on Saturday. “We will easily prevail,” Mr. Trump said at the White House on Monday morning.Mr. Trump also gave a series of phone interviews with media outlets on Monday. He told the New York Post that he would not rule out the possibility of sending troops into Iran. “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump said.Mr. Trump told CNN that, “We haven’t even started hitting them hard.” He claimed attacks could intensify. “The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon, Mr. Trump said.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during an earlier Pentagon briefing, declined to put a timeline on American military operations against Iran but is calling the mission crystal-clear — “We are hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” he said.General Caine said American intelligence enabled Israel to carry out the attack that killed the Iranian regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei in the first moments of the attacks. He added that cyberattacks were used ahead of time to knock out key systems in Iran and sow confusion.General Caine would not specify how many American forces were involved in the operation but said more forces were being deployed on Monday. “I think we’re just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and total combat power,” General Caine said.The Pentagon confirmed on Monday afternoon that the number of American troops dead after an Iranian attack over the weekend had risen to six. “U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region,” the United States Central Command said in an X post. It added that the identities of the victims are being withheld until after family notifications.In other developments, Iranian media say Khamenei’s wife died on Monday. Mansoureh Khojasteh had been in a coma since Saturday’s attack, according to the Associated Press.Israeli and American forces continued strikes on Iran on Monday, including Tehran. The IDF reported a wave of strikes targeting regime command centers in the capital.Israeli forces also continued strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The IDF said one strike killed the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence arm. Islamic Jihad said the commander of its military wing in Lebanon was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, the New York Times reported.Qatar said it shot down two Iranian Su-24 jets, successfully intercepted seven ballistic missiles and five drones.President Vladimir Putin offered, on Monday, to step in to help stabilize the situation in the region. Russia is an ally of the regime and has relied on Iranian drones and missiles for use in Ukraine. Mr. Putin had calls with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain.Mr. Putin referred to the joint Israeli and American attacks on Iran a “flagrant violation of international law,” according to the Kremlin.

Iran Claims It Has ‘Closed’ Strait of Hormuz, Threatening a Fifth of World’s Oil Supply

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