Explainers

The Strait of Hormuz: Why 20 Million Barrels a Day Pass Through a Chokepoint 21 Miles Wide

Every Iran confrontation eventually arrives at the same 21-mile-wide stretch of water between Oman and Iran. This is the physical, financial and military system that makes Hormuz the most valuable and most vulnerable passage on Earth — and what actually happens to oil, ships and insurance when it is threatened.