At the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage through which a fifth of the world's oil travels — Iran and the United States exchanged direct military strikes in early September 2026, each side targeting the other's vessels in a cycle of retaliation that transformed long-simmering tension into open confrontation. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed strikes on American-affiliated ships, while the US military confirmed destroying three Iranian crude oil tankers, marking a moment when proxy posturing gave way to named targets and acknowledged actions. What unfolds in that slender waterway