Tensions over one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints have escalated sharply this week, as Iran advances legislative steps to cement its de facto control of the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. struggles with mounting military and political fallout from its ongoing confrontation alongside Israel and threatens historic new sanctions against Tehran.
An Iranian parliamentary committee has signed off on the core framework of a sweeping strategic plan that governs security and development across the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, Valiullah Bayati, spokesperson for the parliament’s internal affairs and councils committee, confirmed to Tasnim News Agency on Friday. The approved outline will now move forward for additional parliamentary review and deliberation.
Under the terms of the proposed plan, vessels and maritime equipment owned by the U.S., Israel, and any other nation Iran classifies as hostile will be barred from transiting the strategic waterway. Bayati emphasized that the restriction is a direct response to longstanding hostile actions taken by these nations against Iran and its people, framing the policy as a defensive measure against ongoing aggression, according to reporting from Al Jazeera.
The move has drawn an immediate harsh response from Washington, which has threatened sweeping new economic penalties even as U.S. military forces have failed to challenge Iran’s effective control of the corridor through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supplies pass. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax that the Trump administration will unveil the new sanctions next week, promising measures unprecedented in the history of global economic isolation.
“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures that have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country,” Bessent said, adding that the package will combine unprecedented global economic isolation with a continued naval blockade designed to cut off all traffic to and from Iranian ports.
For its part, Iran has doubled down on its claim of full authority over the waterway, with senior Iranian military officials asserting complete control over all maritime movement in the strait. “The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Our control over movements is complete and decisive,” Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy told Tasnim on Friday. “No movement in this strait escapes the eyes of the IRGC Navy fighters,” he added, noting that “the reality should be seen in the field, not in the communiques and statements of U.S. officials.”
Independent shipping data bears out Tehran’s claim of severely restricted traffic. Maritime analytics firm Kpler recorded just nine commercial commodity vessels passing through the strait on Thursday, an increase from five on Wednesday but still far below the August daily average of 12. Of the nine vessels, five entered the Persian Gulf and four sailed toward the Gulf of Oman, with the vast majority using the Iranian-controlled shipping channel. The count does not include vessels operating with their automatic identification tracking systems disabled, meaning actual unreported traffic could shift the overall total.
Tehran is also moving to insulate its economy from U.S. financial pressure by expanding access to alternative global financial institutions not controlled by Washington. Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of Iran’s Central Bank, announced this week that Iran will soon complete its accession to the Brics-backed New Development Bank, though the multilateral lender has not yet publicly confirmed the move.
Global energy markets have already responded to the escalating standoff, with crude prices climbing in response to the threat of prolonged disruption to oil supplies. Brent crude climbed above $88 per barrel on Friday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose past $82 per barrel.
The escalating crisis has also exposed deepening strains on U.S. military capabilities, as the extended deployment of an American aircraft carrier in the region has stretched resources and sparked bipartisan political backlash. The U.S. is currently repositioning the USS George Washington to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose crew has now spent more than 260 consecutive days at sea without port access. The deployment will leave the Pacific region without a U.S. aircraft carrier for an unknown period, a clear sign of the widening military costs of the Biden administration’s legacy Iran campaign that the current Trump administration has continued.
Reports of severe shortages, unsanitary living conditions, and deteriorating mental health among the Abraham Lincoln’s crew have sparked alarm from military families and sitting members of Congress. Four U.S. lawmakers, led by California Representative Mike Levin, have called on the Pentagon to provide an explanation for the extended deployment, noting that existing relief plans are insufficient to address the crisis.
U.S. Central Command has denied unconfirmed reports that any sailors have died aboard the carrier, issuing a statement saying that “the Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea.” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has embraced the informal moniker “Secretary of War,” has dismissed reports of poor conditions as “completely misrepresented.”
The crisis has sparked fierce political pushback, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling for Hegseth’s immediate removal. “When Pete Hegseth was nominated, everyone knew he was completely incompetent. Now our brave sailors are paying the price in a horrific and unfathomable way,” Schumer said. “Pete Hegseth must be fired immediately.”