$435 Million A Day: What US Blockade Of Hormuz May Cost Iran

Last Updated:April 14, 2026, 00:13 IST

As per the report, the estimate loss figure includes about $276 million in lost exports, mainly crude oil and petrochemicals.

US-Iran War: According to an estimate, a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could cost Iran up to $435 million a day, as tensions between Tehran and Washington escalate, the Wall Street Journal reported.

As per the report, the estimated loss figure includes about $276 million in lost exports, mainly crude oil and petrochemicals. The estimate, by Miad Maleki of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, assumed Iran exports around 1.5 million barrels of oil per day at roughly $87 per barrel. More than 90% of these exports typically pass through Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.

Analysts say the actual economic impact on Iran will depend on several factors, including how strictly the blockade is enforced and whether Tehran can reroute exports through alternative routes such as the Jask terminal outside the Strait.

Short-term losses may also be cushioned by oil already stored at sea. Data from Kpler suggested Iran had about 154 million barrels of crude floating outside the Gulf as of late March.

The blockade was enforced by the United States on Monday, with President Donald Trump announcing that vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports would be stopped. He also issued a strong warning to Iran’s naval forces, saying any “fast-attack" boats approaching US ships would be “eliminated."

“If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The move came after talks between the US and Iran failed to produce an agreement following a temporary ceasefire.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off a vital waterway that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, in response to US-Israeli strikes starting February 28.

Despite damage to its conventional navy, Iran retains the ability to disrupt maritime traffic through unconventional means, including fast-attack craft and mines, news agency Reuters reported, citing analysts.

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