The Strait of Hormuz has become a flash point in the U.S.-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic. The narrow strait through which oil tankers must pass to get into or out of the Persian Gulf has been closed to most shipping by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since hostilities began. The United States has a clear interest in seizing control of the strait and a strategic interest in maintaining control thereafter.

The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most critical maritime chokepoint. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Its significance is difficult to overstate. Nearly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids flow through it.