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Pipelines can bypass some of the waterway.
Alternative shipping routes exist.
Countries can draw on strategic reserves.
But none of those solutions can instantly reproduce the capacity of the Strait.
That means any serious disruption can affect not only Iran and its immediate neighbors but energy markets around the world.
An oil tanker delayed in the Persian Gulf can ultimately affect fuel prices thousands of miles away.
That is why every American or Iranian statement about Hormuz is closely watched by governments, financial markets and shipping companies.
From sanctions to a physical blockade
For years, Washington relied heavily on sanctions to pressure Iran.
The strategy was intended to make it more difficult for Tehran to sell oil, obtain foreign currency and conduct international trade.
But sanctions have never completely stopped Iranian oil exports.
Iran developed methods for circumventing restrictions, using intermediaries, ship-to-ship transfers and other mechanisms to keep crude moving.
The naval blockade represented something fundamentally different.
Instead of merely telling companies that Iranian oil was prohibited, the United States could physically prevent Iranian-linked cargoes from moving through critical maritime routes.
By September, Reuters reported that Iran had gone approximately seven weeks without meaningful crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz, with U.S. naval action cutting off one of Tehran’s principal sources of foreign-currency revenue. Investing.com
That is the central reason the blockade matters.
Sanctions can be evaded.
A naval force positioned around a chokepoint is much harder to circumvent.
Trump’s “total” blockade
Trump has repeatedly characterized the American position as complete control of the waterway.
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In a July statement published by the White House, he said the United States had a blockade in place and that only ships Washington wanted to pass would be allowed through. He also said Iran did not control the Strait of Hormuz. The White House
The language was deliberately forceful.
Trump’s foreign-policy approach has often emphasized visible demonstrations of power.
Rather than describing the blockade in cautious bureaucratic language, he presented it as evidence that the United States had fundamentally changed the balance of power in the region.
The administration’s argument was straightforward.
Iran had attempted to use Hormuz as leverage.
Washington would deny Tehran that leverage.
The United States would control maritime traffic.
And Iran would face increasingly severe economic consequences unless it reached an agreement with Washington.
The 20% fee shock
Then came the proposal that startled even many observers accustomed to Trump’s unconventional economic policies.
The president announced a 20% fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The idea immediately raised questions.