Michael West Media · AAP · Saturday 18 April 2026
Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened to commercial shipping, but the US says its blockade on Iranian ports stays. The standoff leaves global oil supply hostage to a bilateral grudge match.
Iran opens the door and Trump stands in the frame saying nobody leaves. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's petrol bowser and two blokes with grudges are arguing over who holds the nozzle while the rest of us pay by the litre. Forty per cent of the world's seaborne oil through one chokepoint, and the global energy architecture still runs on the assumption that everybody behaves themselves.