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Iran's two-chokepoint gambit puts 20 million barrels a day in play

7/17/2026

Fresh strikes on Iranian coastal defense and missile sites, confirmed by U.S. Central Command, are part of Washington's effort to reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Iran responded with cruise-missile strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on U.S.-linked targets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.

Energy Information Administration reports oil flow through Hormuz averaged roughly 20 million barrels a day in 2024, about a fifth of global petroleum consumption, and Tehran is now signaling a threat to a second energy artery.

A second chokepoint enters the frame Reuters reports that Iran is signaling it could use its Houthi allies in Yemen to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, putting a second vital energy route at risk.

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