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Economy Iran · United States · Oman

Strait of Hormuz shipping and oil shock

Traffic remains far below pre-war levels and attacks on tankers continue. Iran's Revolutionary Guards say two more tankers hit mines, and Adnoc says one of its tankers was struck in UAE waters. Iran says the strait stays shut until its seven conditions are met.

Confidence: low. Traffic figures differ between trackers, IRGC mine-strike claims are unverified, attackers in several incidents are unidentified, and Brent quotes vary within the same day and often do not say whether they are futures or spot prices. · Updated 11 Nov 2026, 2pm ET

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What's happening

Since the war began on February 28, Iran has attacked ships and restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried around a fifth of the world's oil. The US has imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, which the White House says is 100 percent effective, though the group UANI says smaller Iranian tankers occasionally slip through with LPG bound for China. Iran's top security official says the strait will stay closed until Washington meets its conditions, and its army spokesman says the US must accept seven Iranian conditions for the strait to reopen; Iranian officials have demanded an end to the US blockade, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and war reparations. Ships are still being hit: an Indian seafarer was killed when a dhow was struck off Oman on November 2 and a crew member died aboard the tanker Velos Sapphire on November 5, while the IRGC Navy reports multiple tankers being struck each day, claims that have not been independently confirmed. Ship-tracking sources disagree on how much traffic is moving, and some oil flows now use bypass routes.

What changed recently

Key figures

$92.20 a barrelBrent crude oil priceReuters market report, carried by Aaj English TV · 2026-11-11 · source
3 on Nov 8, against roughly 85 a day normallyVessels crossing the strait in one dayIMF PortWatch, cited by the Strait of Hormuz Live Tracker · 2026-11-08 · source

Sources