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The Strait of Hormuz.
A battlefield. A point of leverage. A geographic bend whose name has now found its way to kitchen tables across the globe.
Since the early days of this war, few captains have dared cross it ever since the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it was closed. There have been steep consequences issued to those who dared defy the order. Ships have been hit and burned, and gas prices soared as a result of the gridlock.
That highly critical corridor, just 21 miles at its narrowest point, has seen some of the tensest exchanges of fire and heated global debates since the U.S. and Israel launched an operation against Iran on Feb. 28.
As the announcement came down that the Strait would reopen, my trusty producer, Will Budkins, and I found ourselves right in the middle of the waterway — which in that moment felt oddly comparable to being in the center of the universe.
Getting here wasn’t simple. It took planes, cars and some persistent convincing. Our captain was reluctant to take the job. And even then, once he agreed, he made clear he didn’t want to stay too long — or get too close. Everyone operating in and around the strait right now is uptight. You feel it the moment you arrive.
Bustling summer beach towns have turned ghostly quiet. Resorts are empty. All the way down the coastline, the most prized infrastructure in this part of the world sits guarded and watched at every moment. Air defenses and radar installations remind you you’re a far cry from a Lake Michigan getaway.
NewsNation reporter Robert Sherman and producer Will Budkins report from the Strait of Hormuz. Our team had eight phones between us and a Starlink dish. All of them went dark within minutes of leaving the harbor. Whatever was happening out there, we were watching it without a signal to the outside world.
In the open waters, 20 percent of the global oil trade sat at a standstill. The numbers are almost too large to process — but the visual makes it immediate. More than 500 ships, holding on either side of the strait, waiting to make the crossing. Supertankers. LNG carriers. Flying the flags of countries from all corners of the world.
The International Energy Agency called it the biggest energy crisis in history. Standing out there, watching that traffic jam of global commerce frozen in place, that framing doesn’t feel like hyperbole.
A deal signed in France this week is meant to change all of that. President Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open and ready for passage with pen to paper on the memorandum of understanding with Iran.
But standing on the water, the reality was more complicated. Many ships were still holding. Still waiting. Not yet convinced that the guns were quiet, or that the mines were gone, or that the all-clear was genuine and not temporary.
The White House says this is to be expected as de-mining operations get underway. An estimated 25 ships went through on June 18 — the best we’ve seen in months but well down from the 120 per day benchmark we saw before Feb. 27. To clear the whole backlog will take weeks, assuming the 60-day ceasefire holds.
But, things are moving. You can tell the locals want this to be over. What they would give to have their anonymity back and not see their hometowns mapped out and plastered on television screens worldwide.
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