Iran on Wednesday captured two foreign container ships looking for to exit the Strait of Hormuz and fired at a 3rd one, marking the newest escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran within the slender delivery passage, and coming amid a United States naval blockade of Iranian ports which commenced on April 13.
On Monday this week, the US army fired on and then captured the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska near the Strait of Hormuz within the northern Arabian Sea, because it was en path to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. In response, Iran accused the US of “piracy“.
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Then, on Wednesday, the US military intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters, the Reuters news agency reported, and was said to be redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
While a ceasefire between the US and Iran is in place, the attacks, capture, and interceptions of ships by both sides point to an ongoing naval war still playing out in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are shipped during peacetime.
Has Iran’s capture of foreign-flagged ships raised the stakes in the strait even more?
Here’s what we know about how Iran and the US have, step by step, ratcheted up tensions in the strait.
Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz runs between Oman on one side and Iran on the other. It links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond. Oil and gas producers in the Gulf use the channel to ship exports to the rest of the world.
After the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28, Tehran, whose territorial waters extend into the strait, closed the passage to all vessels. On March 4, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it was in full control of the strait, and ships would need to get clearance from them to pass through it.
At its narrowest point – just 21 nautical miles (equivalent to about 39km) wide – the strait falls entirely within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. Iran insists that legally, that gives it – and Oman – the right to regulate traffic through the strait, even though passage through the waterway has historically been free of restrictions.
Through its imposition of controls over who passes through Hormuz, Iran has, for almost eight weeks now, determined which vessels can exit the strait into the Gulf of Oman.
Yet, since the US imposed its naval blockade on April 13, its military has controlled which ships can pass from the Arabian Sea into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
That scenario has left maritime traffic trapped in a situation where rival militaries control the entry and exit points to the strait, and vessels need approval from both to be able to transit.
Iran’s first Hormuz move
Since the IRGC’s announcement on March 4 of its decision to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s formal position – until recently – was that the waterway was actually closed only to enemy countries, namely the US and Iran.
On March 26, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iran’s state TV: “The Strait of Hormuz, from our perspective, is not completely closed. It is closed only to enemies. There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass.”
Ships from different nations, Iran stated, may go by means of the strait in the event that they negotiate that passage with the IRGC. Vessels from Malaysia, China, Egypt, South Korea, India and Pakistan handed by means of the strait by means of most of March and early April.
In March, the IRGC imposed a “toll booth” system to regulate vessel site visitors by means of the strait.
Several “vessel transits through the strait have followed a route pre-approved under the IRGC ‘toll booth’ system that requires the ship operators to submit to a vetting scheme”, London-based delivery journal Lloyd’s List reported on March 26.
According to Lloyd’s, at the least two vessels transiting the strait paid the toll charge in yuan, China’s foreign money.
Amid blocking the strait and reportedly gathering tolls, Iran has continued to ship its personal ships exporting oil.
Iran’s oil exports by means of the Strait of Hormuz account for about 80 % of its complete exports. According to Kpler, a commerce intelligence agency, Iran exported 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in March and has shipped 1.71 million bpd thus far in April, in contrast with a median of 1.68 million bpd in 2025.
From March 15 to April 14, it exported 55.22 million barrels of oil. The value per barrel of Iranian oil – throughout its three main variants, generally known as Iranian mild, Iranian heavy and Forozan mix – has not fallen under $90 per barrel over the previous month. On many days, the worth has surpassed $100 a barrel.
Even on the conservative estimate of $90 a barrel, Iran could have earned at the least $4.97bn over the previous month from oil exports.
By distinction, in early February earlier than the war began, Iran was incomes about $115m a day from its crude oil exports, or $3.45bn in a month.
In all, which means that Iran has earned 40 % extra from oil exports prior to now month than it did every month earlier than the war.
When the US raised the stakes with its naval blockade
The US naval blockade of Iranian ports started at 14:00 GMT on April 13. Since then, US Central Command has stated US forces have directed 31 Iran-linked vessels to show round or return to an Iranian port.
On Monday, the US military fired on after which captured the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska near the Strait of Hormuz within the northern Arabian Sea, and, a day later, detained one other oil tanker sanctioned for transporting Iranian crude oil because it sailed within the Bay of Bengal, which hyperlinks India and Southeast Asia.
In a put up on social media after detaining the Touska, the Pentagon wrote: “As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran – anywhere they operate. International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”
How Iran raised the stakes larger
Ever for the reason that US naval blockade of Iranian ports started, Tehran, which was earlier permitting vessels from “friendly” nations to go by means of the Strait of Hormuz, has tightened its grip on the strait additional.
Justifying the choice to not enable any international ships to go till the US ends its naval blockade on April 19, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref stated the “security of the Strait of Hormuz is not free”.
“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” he wrote in a put up on X.
“The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone,” he added. “Stability in global fuel prices depends on a guaranteed and lasting end to the economic and military pressure against Iran and its allies.”
The day earlier than, Iran had reportedly fired at two Indian-flagged service provider vessels within the strait. The IRGC stated the 2 ships have been attacked as a result of they have been “operating without authorisation”, in response to state media reviews.
Then, on April 22, Iran captured two container ships looking for to exit the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz after firing on them and one other vessel.
Iran’s IRGC stated the vessels had violated maritime laws and entered the strategic waterway with out its coordination, in response to Iranian state media.
According to Reuters, one of many ships captured was the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, intercepted on its solution to the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota. The vessel was hit by gunfire about eight nautical miles (15km) west of Iran, nevertheless it was not broken and its crew have been protected, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and maritime safety sources advised Reuters.
The second ship captured was the Greek-owned and Liberia-flagged Epaminondas, which was reportedly fired upon about 20 nautical miles (37km) northwest of Oman, UKMTO and sources advised Reuters. The operator of the ship stated all crew members have been protected. It had been headed in direction of Gujarat, India.
A Liberia-flagged container ship, Euphoria, was additionally fired upon in the identical space as MSC Francesca however was not broken and resumed crusing, later reaching Fujairah within the United Arab Emirates, Reuters reported.
Where is all this heading now?
This is the primary time Iran has attacked and captured ships for the reason that war started. The ships are additionally not linked to the US and Israel.
Ali Vaez, the Iran challenge director for the International Crisis Group assume tank, advised Al Jazeera that Iran’s seize of ships isn’t an remoted act however a part of a deliberate “tit-for-tat between Iran and the United States”.
“What we are seeing in the Strait of Hormuz is not strategic mastery but mutual brinkmanship, with each side testing the limits of coercion,” he stated.
“The danger is that neither believes it can afford to blink, and that makes every incident at sea a potential trigger for wider escalation,” he added.
In an announcement on social media on Thursday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator of the ceasefire talks, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated a full ceasefire may solely work if the US naval blockade is lifted.
He harassed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz can be not possible with such a “flagrant breach of the ceasefire”.
Chris Featherstone, a political scientist on the University of York, advised Al Jazeera that in capturing ships, nevertheless, Iran has raised pressure round any negotiations with the US.
“Historically, the US has been perceived to be more of a legitimate actor, and yet in this war with Iran, the Trump administration has lost a large amount of this perceived legitimacy,” he stated.
“This looks like a high-stakes game of poker, with both players staring each other down and waiting for the other to blink. Iran had the opportunity to blink, but in capturing the ships, they put the pressure back on Trump to blink or not,” he added.
