The Journal. The Escalating Crisis at the Strait of Hormuz
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Mar 12, 2026 
Jared Malsin, Middle East correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, gives on-the-ground reporting from the Strait of Hormuz. He outlines Iran’s asymmetric strategy to close the strait. He details weapons threatening shipping, limits on U.S. naval escorts, and options like convoys or ceasefires. He also covers pipeline alternatives, storage constraints, and wider economic knock-on effects.
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Drones And Mines Make The Strait Lethal
- Iran can deploy low-flying attack drones and naval mines that are hard to detect and defend against, making civilian tankers vulnerable.
- Malsin notes Tehran's Shahid drones and mined waters could cause catastrophic environmental and economic damage from a single hit.
Cheap Weapons Create Disproportionate Damage
- Iran's 'mosquito fleet' of small fast attack boats and cheap drones impose outsized costs on sophisticated defenders.
- Jared Malsin highlights asymmetry: tens-of-thousands-dollar drones force multi-million-dollar defenses and create market panic from images of burning ships.
Avoid Convoys While Fighting Continues
- Military escorts are conceptually possible but currently too dangerous while the conflict is active, so navies are not planning convoys now.
- Malsin reports escorts would divert strike assets and might require multiple warships per tanker with seconds to respond to attacks.