In-house briefings
Rolling updates and deeper context
Read the headline first, then trace the same event through shipping, oil, and geopolitical risk.
Where Is the Strait of Hormuz and Why Does Geography Matter So Much?
A compact explainer on the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and why a tiny passage can rattle the whole energy market.
- The strait is the only sea exit for most Gulf oil exporters.
- Inbound and outbound shipping lanes are narrow and highly choreographed.
Why the Strait of Hormuz Moves Oil and LNG Markets
The transmission mechanism from tanker traffic to Brent, freight, insurance, and refinery sentiment.
- More than 20% of global oil and LNG exports move through the strait.
- Risk premiums often move before physical supply is fully interrupted.
Shipping Risk Signals to Watch Around Hormuz
A working checklist for shipowners, traders, analysts, and anyone tracking how maritime stress shows up before a full-scale disruption.
- Watch for convoy talk, rerouting, and unusual pauses near the Gulf of Oman.
- Insurance and charter language often changes before traffic data does.
What a Hormuz Closure Scare Actually Means for Traders
Closure scares are usually about repricing risk, not instant zero-flow outcomes. Here is how to read the difference.
- Headline risk can outrun physical disruption by days or weeks.
- Price action often reflects insurance, timing, and confidence shocks.
Latest headlines
Iran blames US for Hormuz dispute as both sides confirm ongoing talks
Iran reports no new US strikes overnight into Saturday for the first time in two weeks.
US expands Iran attacks as Trump warns Tehran and Houthis over Red Sea strikes
No end to fighting in sight as Revolutionary Guards launch drones at targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait The US has struck targets across Iran, reaching as far as the Caspian Sea, as Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the war to a second shipping chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea. As Iran retaliated on Friday with missile and drone fire against US bases and allies across the region, the New York Times reported that Tehran had rejected a US ceasefire proposal delivered by the Iraq prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi. This despite the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, claiming a day earlier that Iran was begging for a ceasefire. Iraq later disputed the report. Continue reading...
Julian Leeser says his son no longer feels safe at Jewish events – as it happened
This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australian exports sent to the US will be hit with a 12.5% tariff as the US president imposes levies on more than 80 nations. The Trump administration unveiled the latest tranche of tariffs for countries over their “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”. This, in our view, makes no sense. Forced labour is definitely something which needs to be combated around the world, so we support that objective. We absolutely need to see the strait of Hormuz be open and for freedom of navigation to happen there, for commercial shipping to be allowed through, and we very much call on Iran to allow that to be the case. We need to see a restoration to the normal global fuel supply chain because it’s having a significant impact around the world. Continue reading...
Houthi attacks raise fears of wider Middle East conflict and more global economic damage
The Iran-backed group in Yemen has threatened to target Saudi vessels in a vital shipping route.
Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi tanker as US launches more Iran strikes
The Iran-backed group, which previously announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia, also claims to have hit another vessel.
Trump threatens to target Iran's bridges and power plants if Hormuz attacks persist
Donald Trump says the US will respond any time Iranian forces shoot at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Australia to warn China it won’t be bullied by ‘provocative‘ actions as it builds military and nuclear arsenal
Foreign minister Penny Wong will deliver speech criticising China’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Penny Wong will warn China that Australia and other neighbouring nations will not be bullied by its “provocative” actions, after its involvement in another “destabilising and dangerous” incident this week. The foreign affairs minister – who will deliver the address on Thursday in the Philippines, where the 59th Asean foreign minister’s meeting is being held – will also caution world leaders against placing a toll on the strait of Hormuz after both Iran and the US threatened to do amid the protracted conflict. Continue reading...
Why Iran is risking so much over the Strait of Hormuz
None of the choices facing Iran’s leaders offer a clear path to victory, as the conflict with the US continues.
Trump retreat over Hormuz tolls suggests he is struggling to end Iran war
The abrupt about-face from the US president was the latest twist in a conflict that has now lasted more than four months.
Watch: The clash between US and Iran for control of the Strait of Hormuz
The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher examines the latest tensions over the key international shipping channel.