Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between Iran and its neighbors. Many ships use it to carry oil to the rest of the world.
For months, there has been a war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Because of the war, very few ships can safely cross the strait.
On August 14, leaders in Iran said something important. They said Iran, not the United States, decides which ships can pass through the strait.
Experts say oil supplies around the world are getting lower. Countries are waiting to see if the strait will open again soon.
- strait
- a narrow strip of water connecting two larger areas of water
- oil
- a thick liquid taken from the ground and used for fuel and energy
- ship
- a large boat that carries people or goods across water
- war
- fighting between countries or groups
- leader
- a person who is in charge of a country or group
- pass
- to go through or by something
- supply
- an amount of something that is available to use
- expert
- a person who knows a lot about a subject
Level 2 — Elementary
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, important waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. In normal times, a large share of the world's oil passes through it on huge tankers.
Since a war began between the United States, Israel, and Iran, ship traffic through the strait has dropped sharply. Only a small number of vessels have dared to cross in recent days.
On August 14, officials in Tehran pushed back against President Trump, who had claimed the United States has total control of the strait. Iranian leaders said Iran, not the United States, decides who may sail through.
The International Energy Agency has warned that the world's oil stockpiles are being used up quickly. Iran and its neighbor Oman are reportedly close to an arrangement for safer shipping routes, though a full reopening of the strait still depends on further talks.
- waterway
- a channel of water that ships can travel through
- tanker
- a large ship built to carry liquids such as oil
- traffic
- the movement of ships, vehicles, or people along a route
- vessel
- a ship or large boat
- official
- a person who holds a position of authority in government
- stockpile
- a large stored supply of something kept for future use
- arrangement
- a plan or agreement that has been worked out
- route
- a path or way that is taken to get somewhere
Level 3 — Intermediate
The Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil normally flows, has seen shipping traffic collapse since war broke out between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Independent tracking data cited by the International Energy Agency showed only about eight vessels crossed the strait on a recent Tuesday, with just 29 crossings for the entire week, far below pre-war levels.
On August 14, senior officials in Tehran publicly rejected President Trump's claim, made two days earlier, that the United States has total control of the strait and calls it a wall of steel. Iranian leaders insisted that Iran, not Washington, decides which vessels may pass, reasserting sovereignty over the waterway even as its own economy suffers from the disruption to oil exports.
Behind the scenes, Iran and Oman are reportedly close to a more limited arrangement rather than a full reopening. According to regional officials, the proposed deal would have inbound ships use a lane closer to Iran's coast and outbound ships use a lane closer to Oman's, waive transit tolls, clear sea mines, and restart a 60-day clock tied to a broader ceasefire framework.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been Iran's lead voice throughout the standoff, saying that any full reopening remains conditional on the United States making amends for what he called a violation of a memorandum of understanding reached between the two sides in June. Meanwhile, the IEA has warned that global oil stockpiles are being drawn down at a rapid pace, adding urgency to a resolution that has so far remained elusive.
- chokepoint
- a narrow passage that controls the flow of traffic, trade, or shipping through it
- sovereignty
- the authority of a state to govern itself and control what happens within its territory
- disruption
- a disturbance or interruption to the normal flow of something
- inbound
- traveling toward a particular place, rather than away from it
- outbound
- traveling away from a particular place
- toll
- a fee charged to use a road, bridge, or waterway
- memorandum
- a written statement or agreement recording the terms of an understanding
- elusive
- difficult to achieve, find, or obtain despite effort
Level 4 — Advanced
The Strait of Hormuz, the world's most consequential maritime chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply ordinarily transits, remains largely paralyzed months into a war pitting the United States and Israel against Iran, with independent shipping data showing traffic collapsed to a mere eight vessels on a recent Tuesday and just 29 for the entire week, a fraction of pre-war volumes.
On August 14, senior Iranian officials publicly and pointedly rejected a claim President Trump had made two days earlier, that the United States exercises total control over the strait, which he likened to a wall of steel. Tehran's rebuttal, that Iran alone determines which vessels may transit, functions less as a practical assertion of naval dominance than as a rhetorical reclamation of sovereignty amid an economically punishing standoff that has throttled Iran's own oil exports as much as anyone else's.
Beneath the public sparring, a narrower technical arrangement between Iran and Oman appears close to finalization, though notably short of a full reopening. Regional officials describe a scheme segregating inbound and outbound traffic into lanes hugging the Iranian and Omani coasts respectively, waiving transit tolls, clearing sea mines laid during the conflict, and restarting a 60-day clock tied to a broader ceasefire framework, terms that would ease but not resolve the underlying dispute.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has remained Iran's principal interlocutor throughout, conditioning any comprehensive reopening on Washington making amends for what he characterizes as a violation of a memorandum of understanding struck between the two governments in June. The International Energy Agency's parallel warning, that global oil stockpiles are being depleted at an accelerating rate, underscores the widening gap between the diplomatic stalemate's slow pace and the mounting economic pressure it continues to generate worldwide.
- maritime
- relating to the sea or seafaring activities such as shipping
- paralyzed
- rendered unable to function or move normally
- rebuttal
- a statement that argues against or disproves a previous claim
- reclamation
- the act of taking back or reasserting something that was claimed or lost
- throttled
- severely restricted or choked off
- segregating
- separating into distinct groups or categories
- interlocutor
- a person who takes part in a dialogue or negotiation
- stalemate
- a situation in which no further progress can be made by either side
Talk about this article with KatePractice this story's vocabulary in a real spoken conversation with your AI tutor