The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has led Iran to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, greatly reducing the number of ships able to access the integral route. This past week, the United Kingdom gathered officials from 40 countries to strategize reopening the critical strait.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s busiest shipping channels. According to the BBC, around 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied gas typically passes through the strait—about 20 million barrels of oil per day. Usually, around 150 ships pass through the channel daily, but since the war began, this number has dwindled to about 5 to 10. 

The bulk of the ships that Iran has allowed to pass through the strait are linked to Pakistan, India, and China. This indicates that Iran is blocking the passage of any ships tied to allies of the U.S. or Israel, Jonathan Schroden of the U.S.-based Center for Naval Analyses reports. However, even the ships that have been allowed through are diverted to a more northerly corridor which allows Iran to verify ships and give approval to proceed, sometimes involving payment of up to $2 million. This has led to the corridor being called “Tehran’s tollbooth.” 

As a result of the war and subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, global oil prices have soared. Brent Crude Oil, the international benchmark, stands at $109 per barrel as of April 4th, representing an over 50 percent increase since the start of the conflict. Americans are feeling the effects at the gas pump: The Senate’s Joint Economic Committee found that in the first month of the war, American households paid $8.4 billion more for gasoline compared to prices before the war.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper gathered ministers from dozens of other countries for a virtual meeting on April 2nd, citing that Iran’s “recklessness” in blockading the Strait of Hormuz was “hitting our global security” (Al Jazeera). The meeting ended without any specific agreements, but Cooper stated that “every possible diplomatic, economic and coordinated measure” would be discussed to form a strategy to pressure Iran into reopening the strait. The consensus from the meeting, which included global powers like France, Germany, Canada, and Japan, as well as other Gulf nations, was that ships must be allowed to transit freely through the Strait of Hormuz without having to pay a toll to Iran. 

Beyond oil, the meeting also covered the importance of the channel in shipping fertilizers and other vital products to underdeveloped countries in Africa. David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee, called the blockade of the strait a “food security timebomb,” stating that “the window to avert a massive global hunger crisis is rapidly closing.” This is corroborated by the U.N. World Food Programme, which estimated that if the war does not end by the summer, 45 million people could fall into life-threatening food insecurity. 

Notably absent from the meeting was the United States. Despite initiating the war, President Donald Trump has appeared to indicate that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not his problem. Referring to his European allies, Trump stated, “they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.” He has maintained that it isn’t the U.S.’s responsibility to end the blockade, because they aren’t reliant on the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post, he suggested that his allies “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.” 

Overall, Trump’s messaging about the Strait has been very conflicting: He recently suggested in an address to the nation that the waterway will open up “naturally” at the end of the war. Trump has also previously insisted that the war was not about oil. However, he posted on April 3rd, “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.” 

It is unclear what Trump’s intentions are, which puts the world in a very dangerous position. On April 4th, he delivered another threat to Iran, stating that if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours, “all hell will rain down” on Iran. This ultimatum was quickly rejected by Iran. 

As of April 3rd, the war in Iran has killed over 3,500 people and injured tens of thousands of others.