US Seeks International Help to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. is pushing for other countries to form an international coalition to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters, as oil prices surged to their highest in more than four ​years on fears of longer-term disruptions to global fuel supplies. 

Two months into the war that started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, the vital sea channel remains closed, choking off 20% of the world's supplies ‌of oil and gas. That has sent global energy



prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn.

Efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse, which the United States is trying to unlock with a naval blockade of Iran's oil exports, the country's economic lifeline. 

With talks stalled, U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to receive a briefing on Thursday on plans for a series of fresh military strikes on Iran in hopes it will return to negotiations, according to an Axios report late on Wednesday.