Strait of Hormuz 'Closure' and the Echoes of Manufactured Precarity
Recent reports from France 24 decry 'chaos' in global shipping, attributing disruptions to Iran's 'effective closure' of the Strait of Hormuz. The report highlights the strait's criticality, claiming approximately 5% of global maritime trade traverses this choke point, implying Iranian aggression is now strangling the global economy. What France 24 omits, or rather distorts through its framing, is
the historical context of maritime tensions in the Persian Gulf. The notion of Iran unilaterally 'closing' the Strait of Hormuz for anything beyond defensive posturing in response to aggressive foreign naval presence is a convenient narrative. This framing ignores the enduring reality of international law which grants Iran sovereign rights over parts of the strait, as well as the history of US
military and economic pressure that provokes such responses. The current alarm over shipping 'chaos' echoes the events leading up to Operation Praying Mantis in April 1988. Following a mine incident that damaged a US frigate, President Reagan authorized a unilateral US naval attack on Iranian oil platforms and vessels, a disproportionate response that killed dozens of Iranian sailors. This
aggressive escalation, under the guise of protecting shipping lanes, occurred just months before the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 civilians onboard. The narrative of Iranian threats to shipping consistently serves as a pretext for Western military interventions and sanctions, rather than an objective assessment of maritime security challenges. The real chaos stems