MW Iran may have just put the brakes on reopening the Strait of Hormuz
By Claudia Assis
Hormuz traffic is halted after attacks by Israel on Lebanon, Iranian news agency says
Iran has reportedly halted the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz in response to hostilities that followed the cease-fire agreement.
A tenuous cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran brought crude futures sharply lower on Wednesday and shifted focus to the likely slow work of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has stranded hundreds of ships, including massive oil tankers.
Renewed attacks, however, seem to be putting the brakes on that reopening.
Iranian news agency Fars News said on X that the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz had been halted "following Israel's attacks on Lebanon." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Tuesday that the cease-fire agreement didn't include Lebanon.
Earlier Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, which had emerged as a escape valve for Saudi imports as the conflict dragged on, was reportedly hit by a drone.
According to the Marine Traffic website and parent company Kpler, some 426 oil tankers, 34 cooking-gas carriers and 19 ships carrying liquified natural gas are waiting to transit the strait. Two dry-bulk ships passed through in the early hours after the cease-fire, Marine Traffic said.
The cease-fire removed "the panic premium out of oil, but not the full risk premium," analysts at Rystad said in a note Wednesday. Tightness in physical barrels "is unlikely to be cleared anytime soon."
The strait - which in normal circumstances sees about a fifth of the world's production of crude and crude products pass through, with very few on-land alternatives - emerged as the key pawn in Iran's strategy to outlast U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Iran also retaliated with attacks that hit energy infrastructure in several neighboring countries, even after the cease-fire was agreed upon.
After the first few days of the conflict when the strait was at standstill, some traffic was allowed through - mostly ships carrying Iranian oil exports, cargo ships that were precleared, and some that permitted transit after a few countries secured safe passage with Iran.
According to J.P. Morgan analysts, observable Hormuz crossings in March fell to about 5% of prewar levels, with only 18 tankers transiting the strait - roughly 12% of normal volumes. India and Pakistan were among the countries able to negotiate secure passage.
-Claudia Assis
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April 08, 2026 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)
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