What the 1987 Tanker War teaches us about the Strait of Hormuz stand-off
From The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey by James M. Dorsey
April 19, 2026 · 12 min
About this episode
The episode discusses lessons from the 1987 Iran-Iraq Tanker War relevant to the current US-Iranian tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The 1987 Iran-Iraq Tanker War offers important lessons for today’s US-Iranian stand-off in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The war erupted as a subset of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war after Iraq’s navy attacked Iranian tankers and oil facilities. The similarities between the Tanker War and the battle for the Strait are significant.
People in this episode
Host: James M. Dorsey
Topics covered
- Iran-Iraq War
- Strait of Hormuz
- US-Iran relations
- tanker warfare
- military strategy
Keywords
- Tanker War
- Strait of Hormuz
- Iran
- Iraq
- US-Iran relations
- military conflict
- oil tankers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: US
Places: Strait of Hormuz, Iran, Iraq
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