Shadow fleet under fire: Iran’s strait shutdown could squeeze Russia’s war chest, China’s oil lifeline

Tehran’s strike campaign threatens to disrupt shadow shipping networks and sanctions-evasion routes, raising energy costs for Moscow and Beijing and potentially squeezing Russia’s war funding and China’s industrial and military supply chains. As of Monday, the Iranian regime declared the crucial Strait of Hormuz — between Hormuz Island, Iran, and the Omani enclave of Khasab — closed, under threat of vessels being "torched." Oil tanker traffic immediately fell sharply as merchant seamen now fear missile strikes, but the conflict has also affected the so-called "shadow fleet" of unflagged or sur

Tehran’s strike campaign threatens to disrupt shadow shipping networks and sanctions-evasion routes, raising energy costs for Moscow and Beijing and potentially squeezing Russia’s war funding and China’s industrial and military supply chains. As of Monday, the Iranian regime declared the crucial Strait of Hormuz — between Hormuz Island, Iran, and the Omani enclave of Khasab — closed, under threat of vessels being "torched." Oil tanker traffic immediately fell sharply as merchant seamen now fear missile strikes, but the conflict has also affected the so-called "shadow fleet" of unflagged or sur