This article was originally published on CFR.org and updated by NBC News.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point of U.S.-Iran conflict following the collapse of a sixty-day ceasefire negotiated in mid-June 2026. After resuming tit-for-tat strikes, the two countries are once again locked in a struggle for control over the Mideast waterway, considered a major maritime choke point for global energy supplies.