Spillover of the 2026 Iran war

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched an air war against Iran and assassinated its supreme leader Ali Khamenei. In retaliation, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, US military bases, and US-allied Gulf states. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) issued warnings forbidding passage through the strait, has boarded and attacked merchant ships, and has laid sea mines in the strait. Since 13 April, the US has blockaded Iranian ports, leading to a "dual blockade" of the strait. Until the US–Israeli war against Iran, the Strait of Hormuz was open and about 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade and 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through it.

Since 2 March 2026, there has been an ongoing war in Lebanon between Israel and the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah. It is a resumption of major fighting in the Hezbollah–Israel conflict that began in late 2023, and is part of the wider conflict in the Middle East. The war has killed more than 2,000 militants and civilians in Lebanon and displaced over 1 million, 20% of the country's population, creating a humanitarian crisis.

political and armed activity by Kurds in Iran