Renewed U.S. strikes and Iranian attacks on shipping have reversed the Strait of Hormuz’s fragile recovery and heightened regional security risks.
By Catholics for Catholics
After the latest skirmishes between the United States and Iran, vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz seems to have come to an almost total halt, according to a story by the Epoch Times.
The latest escalation between both countries came after Tehran attacked ships trying to pass the strait using the non-Iran-controlled southern Oman route, prompting a fresh cycle of intensification as U.S. forces countered with a flurry of strikes.
According to the Epoch Times, Maritime traffic analysts—including at Lloyd’s List, LVision, and Windward—reported a sharp stoppage in vessel activities through the Strait of Hormuz on July 8, undoing an earlier rise in traffic through the maritime chokepoint that had improved market certainty and helped lower crude prices to pre-war levels.
“Hormuz transits stall as U.S.-Iran ceasefire collapses, prompting owners and charterers to pause MEG voyages amid renewed military escalation,” Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief wrote in a July 9 note, adding that U.S. threats of fresh strikes and Iran’s renewed blockade of Hormuz have prompted “another shipping pause.”
.@SecWar on the targets of last night's strikes on Iran: "Anything used to harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Anything they thought they had rebuilt or capability they were using was a target last night—and tonight, if we need to, on your order, Mr. President, we will hit… pic.twitter.com/NH9rPqfxrO
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026
On Wednesday, Windward said that the “sharp overnight escalation” in fighting led five vessels seeking transit through the Strait of Hormuz to change direction, while LVision Trading reported on Thursday that Hormuz traffic was back down to levels seen before the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding was signed that extended the ceasefire and reopened the strait to commercial shipping.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a non-profit, public policy research organization, said that it believes Iran is willing to come back to large-scale conflict with the United States in order to lock its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran’s behavior after the latest US strikes indicates that the Iranian regime values control over the strait more than avoiding renewed escalation with the United States,” ISW said in a July 8 report.
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