The Strait of Hormuz is the gateway to the Persian Gulf, where major oil-producing nations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Iran load up tankers with crude and send them out via Hormuz to their end buyers. After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran last week, concerns that the Islamic Republic would block the chokepoint intensified.

Persian Gulf shipping hadn’t been impacted by Israel’s strikes on Iran, though that could change, a British-U.S. naval task force said. The “Strait of Hormuz remains open and commercial traffic continues to

Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Tehran's flexibility in nuclear negotiations,