Iran Threatens Global Oil Shock with Strait of Hormuz Closure Vote After U.S. Strikes
WASHINGTON—June 23, 2025 Imagine waking up to $5 gasoline and empty grocery shelves because a 21-mile waterway half a world away snapped shut.* That nightmare moved closer to reality today when Iran’s parliament voted to block the Strait of Hormuz—retaliation for U.S. airstrikes that incinerated nuclear facilities and pushed the Middle East toward economic catastrophe.
The Chokepoint That Could Choke the World
In Tehran’s parliament chamber, fists pounded desks as lawmakers roared approval for closing the narrow channel where 20% of global oil flows daily. Revolutionary Guard Commander Ismail Kowsari leaned into microphones, eyes blazing: “We’ll squeeze this artery until the West chokes!” The vote lands with Supreme Leader Khamenei, who holds final authority to unleash chaos.
The decision responds to “Operation Midnight Hammer”—America’s devastating Saturday strikes that hammered Iran’s Fordo nuclear complex with 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. Satellite images show the mountain above Fordo scarred like a battlefield, though radiation monitors stay silent.
How Iran Might Seal the Strait
Closing Hormuz wouldn’t need concrete barriers. Experts predict guerrilla tactics:
Silent mining of shipping lanes under cover of darkness
Drone swarms harassing oil tankers
Commandos rappelling onto commercial vessels like the 2023 Advantage Sweet seizure
But geography complicates Iran’s threat. Oman controls half the strait and vows to keep it open. “You can’t plug this channel like a bathtub,” said Gulf analyst Rasha Al Aqeedi. “Every mine they lay, we’ll clear.”
Human Faces of the Crisis
In Tehran: Teacher Parisa Nouri rationed rice at a near-empty market. “My students ask if war means no more bread,” she whispered. “What do I tell them?” In Tel Aviv: Engineer David Ben-Haim sifted through his bomb-shattered apartment. Glass crunched under his boots as he rescued his daughter’s teddy bear. “We rebuild,” he shrugged. “Always.”
Civilian deaths surpassed 450 in nine days. Hospitals from Isfahan to Jerusalem overflow with shrapnel wounds and ash-streaked faces.
Gas Pumps and Panic
Oil prices smashed $95/barrel moments after Iran’s vote—up 23% in a week. If Hormuz closes, analysts warn:
$120 oil within days
$5/gallon U.S. gasoline by July 4th
Global recession as shipping grinds to a halt
Tanker captain Adnan Rashid radioed from the strait: “I’ve got 2 million barrels below deck and Iranian gunships shadowing me. They’re playing Russian roulette with my crew.”
Diplomatic Firefighting
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressed China’s foreign minister: “Rein in Tehran now.” Beijing faces impossible choices—abandon its top oil supplier or watch $120 oil cripple its economy.
Russia condemned the U.S. as “international outlaws,” while France’s president warned: “We’re all hostages if Hormuz closes.”
Why Iran Might Blink
Three realities could stop Khamenei:
Economic suicide: 96% of Iran’s oil exports sail through Hormuz. Blocking it would bankrupt them.
U.S. warships: The Fifth Fleet’s destroyers now trail Iranian patrol boats like wolves.
History’s lesson: When Tehran mined the strait in the 1980s, U.S. helicopters blew their ships to scrap.
Pentagon planners have dusted off “Operation Earnest Will 2.0”—Reagan’s 1987 playbook for escorting tankers through war zones.
All eyes watch Khamenei’s bunker. Within 48 hours, he could
Order symbolic harassment (likely)
Greenlight full closure (catastrophic)
Gas stations from Ohio to Mumbai saw lines form Sunday. “Filled every can I own,” said Texas mechanic Luis García, loading jerry cans into his truck. “This feels like the hurricane that never ends.”
As dusk purpled the Persian Gulf, an Omani coast guard cutter patrolled the strait’s tense waters. “Tehran’s playing with fire,” radioed Captain Yusuf Al-Harthi. “But the first ship they burn? Burns them too.”
