EXPLAINER
Iran threatens Bab al-Mandeb closure: How would that affect world trade?
If the chokepoint were shut, along with the Strait of Hormuz, a quarter of the world’s energy supply would be blocked.
![It’s been 10 years since the Panama Papers leak exposed how the world’s richest hide their wealth. From offshore shell companies to political scandals, the documents revealed a global network of secret finances. [Global News Insight]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/image-1775229416.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![People wait to buy liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders at a gas agency office in Noida on April 2, 2026 amid ongoing oil and gas import disruptions caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. [Arun Sankar/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/image-1775163813.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![A man walks on a street as Cuba's national electric grid collapsed for the second time in a week amid the US-imposed oil blockade, according to officials, as the communist government struggles to keep the lights on for about 10 million people with decrepit infrastructure, in Havana, Cuba on March 21, 2026. [Norlys Perez/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/image-1774896935.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
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The Strait of Hormuz is not just an oil chokepoint
It is the single point of failure of globalised production.
WTO holds crunch meeting amid growing uncertainty over multilateral system
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Tehran’s ‘toll booth’: How Iran picks who to let through Strait of Hormuz
Iran has blocked the passage of vessels carrying 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
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WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the global trade order has ‘irrevocably changed’.
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Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Chinese President Xi Jinping will also visit US at a later date.
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US-Iran mediation: What are each side’s demands – and is a deal possible?
Trump’s envoys have sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran via Pakistan. But Tehran has its own conditions.
EXPLAINER
US-Israel war on Iran: What’s happening on day 25 of attacks?
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What Trump said about Iran after postponing military strikes
After announcing the US will postpone strikes on Iran’s power plants, Donald Trump said Iran called him to make a deal.
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