Iran War Costs

Iran War Costs

From Let's Know Things by Colin Wright

April 28, 2026 · 12 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of the Iranian military's shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz on global oil supply and prices.

This week we talk about the Strait of Hormuz, oil, and Russia. We also discuss Patriot missiles, expensive weapons, and peer rivals. Recommended Book: Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff Transcript During 2025 and early 2026, about 20 million barrels of crude oil and other petroleum products was shipped through the Strait of Hormuz every day. That’s about a quarter of the world’s total seaborne oil, and essentially all of that oil, and gas, and those other energy products that pass through this strait are from Middle Eastern suppliers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Iran. Beginning at the tail-end of February 2026, however, the Iranian military has shut down the Strait by threatening to take out or capture any vessels that attempt to pass through it. This has had the practical effect of initially reducing tanker traffic through the Strait by about 70%, but in recent weeks traffic has dropped to nearly zero. As of April 2026, about 2,000 ships are stranded in the area as a result of this closure. As a result of this shutdown, though, other energy product suppliers have seen demand for their oil and gas and the like increase, and that’s led to higher prices…

People in this episode

Host: Colin Wright

Topics covered

  • Iran
  • oil
  • military conflict
  • energy prices
  • Russia
  • Strait of Hormuz

Keywords

  • Iran
  • Strait of Hormuz
  • oil
  • Russia
  • Patriot missiles
  • energy prices
  • military conflict

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Russia

Products: Patriot missiles

Books & works: Tiny Experiments

Places: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE

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