Hormuz traffic slows further after US threatens more economic pressure on Iran

Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more ships were attacked there.

The United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, as Washington threatens fresh economic measures against Tehran.

Are ships still getting through the Strait of Hormuz?

Just two vessels passed through the strait on Friday, according to ship tracking firm Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship heading the other way. A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was also sailing into the Gulf, with no crude oil shipments visible that day.

Nine vessels passed through the strait on Thursday, up from five on Wednesday but below the August average of 12. Some ships may pass through undetected with their transponders off, but current figures remain far below the more than 130 ships that traversed the strait daily before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.

Why is Iran restricting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz?

A senior Iranian source said on Wednesday there had been no progress in talks to build on a June agreement to end the war. Since the ceasefire from that deal broke down, Iran has resumed attacks on ships it accuses of trying to transit the strait without its permission. The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the strait on Thursday evening, an incident the UAE government blamed on Iran, which made no immediate comment.

"Alongside the threat to energy infrastructure in the region, Iran's ability to restrict shipping through the strait is its main source of leverage in negotiations," said Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. On Thursday, an Iranian parliamentary committee approved a plan for the strait that includes banning transit of US, Israeli and other "hostile" countries' assets and equipment, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

What new economic measures is the US planning against Iran?

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the US military can maintain its naval presence in the region indefinitely to enforce its retaliatory blockade of Iran, which has already inflicted severe economic damage on the country. "Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," he said during a trip to Panama.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington plans to inflict further financial damage on Iran. "Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," he said on Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight." President Donald Trump faces domestic pressure to end an unpopular war, with high fuel prices weighing on his approval ratings ahead of November's midterm elections.

How is the Hormuz standoff affecting global oil supply?

Benchmark Brent futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures both edged up slightly, trading around $87 and $81 a barrel respectively. India's reliance on Russian crude surged to a record in July, while Asian refineries, major customers for Gulf fuel, bought more US crude this week to secure future supplies.

Trump has repeatedly claimed the US has "total control" over the strait, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war began. Iran rejects that claim and says it will not allow the waterway to reopen until its conditions are met, including the removal of economic sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The US lifted its blockade of Iran's shipping and ports for a month in mid-June but has since reimposed it, cutting off Tehran's primary source of hard currency.

Could the conflict widen beyond the Strait of Hormuz?

Trump has repeatedly threatened to escalate military strikes and "hit Iran hard," though he has so far resisted deploying ground troops, seizing strategic islands or bombing desalination plants. Earlier this week, he suggested he would instead rely on economic pressure rather than military action. Washington has tightened sanctions against Iran and entities it says are helping the country procure weapons, though the campaign has not brought Tehran back to the negotiating table.

Reports that Yemen's Iran backed Houthis targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery with drones on Thursday renewed concerns about a widening regional war. Global economists have forecast a sharp drop in global growth, warning some regions could swing into recession if the conflict is not resolved soon.