Control of vital oil waterway emerges as Iran’s substitute for depleted 'hard power' Last updated: May 14, 2026 | 02:02 Sailors stand on deck above a hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, during a trip organized by the Navy for journalists, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. AP Following losses to its missile, drone, and proxy networks in the 2026 US-Israel conflict, the Iranian regime is increasingly centering on the Strait of Hormuz for defence and global leverage. Analysts note a consensus among Tehran’s strategic planners elevating the strait — a chokepoint for 20% of global crude oil and LNG per the International Energy Agency — as a prime "asymmetric" tool after years of attrition. Expert assessments Analysts highlighted the strait’s role in imposing adversary costs and market shocks.…