US-Iran Threats Drive Down Tanker Traffic in Strait of Hormuz
admin 
**Hormuz Tanker Traffic Plumps Amid Escalating U.S.-Iran Tensions**
Tanker traffic navigating the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains severely depressed as the United States and Iran trade aggressive economic and military threats.
According to Kpler data, fewer than 20 vessels crossed the strategic chokepoint over the weekend. Just 13 tankers passed through the strait on Saturday, dropping to only four on Sunday. This follows a weak showing late last week, which saw 16 transits on Friday and only one very large crude carrier exiting the waterway on Thursday.
Data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) for the week ending August 21 showed that 103 vessels entered the Strait of Hormuz while 89 departed. Tankers made up 45% of that traffic, with oil tankers representing 56% of those vessels. The UKMTO noted that overall transits detected by the Automatic Identification System (AIS) remain approximately 90% below pre-conflict baselines, continuing a steady decline since a brief peak in late June.
The slump in shipping traffic coincides with a sharp escalation in rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran.
On Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned of an impending “economic D-Day” against Iran. In an op-ed published by the Financial Times, Bessent declared that the U.S. is entering the “endgame” of its pressure campaign, promising “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary.”
In response, Tehran threatened to completely halt energy exports from the region. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on social media that if the economic offensive persists, “not a single drop of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf.”
Despite the heightened geopolitical friction, oil prices opened the week lower as market participants anticipated the rollout of the U.S. economic campaign, even though specific details of the upcoming sanctions remain unannounced.
