Shipping Strikes In Hormuz Leave Both Sides With Economic Pain

Smoke and fire rise from a commercial cargo vessel following a strike, which US Central Command says it had disabled in the Gulf of Oman after the ship's crew ignored warnings and attempted to run a naval blockade against Iran, at a location given as the Gulf of Oman, October 10, 2026, in this still image taken from a handout video. U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS

Oct 31, 2026 (Bloomberg) –As US President Donald Trump threatens renewed attacks against Iran, Tehran’s intermittent strikes on commercial vessels have left the two sides locked in a painful economic standoff.

For Iran, the US blockade of its oil exports has snuffed out a key part of its military funding and severely hobbled the $300 billion economy, with only a tiny fraction of the prewar 2 million barrels per day are leaving the country via land routes.

And for the US, the rising cost of shipping oil through the Strait of Hormuz — even though US Central Command says almost all Iranian attacks there fail or are intercepted — has kept fuel prices high, stirring a political backlash at home with the midterm elections fast approaching.

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