Strait of Hormuz / Gulf Region — The world’s most critical oil chokepoint became a war zone after Iran abruptly shut down all strait crossings, declaring the waterway “closed to aggressor traffic” — only to see its entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fleet obliterated within hours by a devastating US counterstrike.

At dawn, IRGC fast‑attack boats, missile craft and minelayers surged out of Iranian ports, firing flares and warning shots at tankers and container ships. State TV boasted that “Hormuz is now under full control of the Revolution,” as maritime trackers showed dozens of vessels abruptly anchoring or turning away. Oil prices spiked instantly, and insurers began pulling coverage for ships entering the Gulf.

Then the response hit. From over the horizon, US destroyers and submarines launched volleys of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iranian naval bases, radar sites and piers packed with IRGC vessels. Carrier‑based jets and B‑1 bombers joined in, dropping precision munitions on boat pens, fuel depots and coastal command centers. Drone feeds showed fast‑attack craft exploding in their berths, patrol boats capsizing in flames and piers collapsing into the sea.

By nightfall, US commanders were briefing allies that “all significant IRGC surface combatants in the theatre are sunk or burning.” Iran insisted it had “other tools” — missiles, proxies, mines — but images of wrecked harbors and grieving naval families sparked a furious debate in Tehran over whether the bid to close Hormuz had sacrificed the Guard’s fleet for a symbolic gesture.

Global markets exhaled as a narrow, US‑escorted corridor through the strait slowly reopened. Yet diplomats warned that while the IRGC’s ships may be gone, the decision to weaponise the world’s energy lifeline — and Washington’s ruthless reply — has pushed the Gulf into a new, far more volatile era.