Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz: Why the world is panicking

Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz: Why the world is panicking

As military hostilities keep worsening between Iran and Israel, Tehran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic waterway is the ‘world’s most important oil transit chokepoint’ — roughly 20 million barrels per day of oil and oil products shipments pass through it daily

Fishermen cross the sea waters off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, near the Strait of Hormuz. As tensions surge following Israeli strikes on Iran, fears have resurfaced that the Tehran could retaliate by targeting one of the world’s most vital oil arteries — the Strait of Hormuz. File image/AP