Global Situation Board
Flashpoint · Middle East

US and Israel vs Iran (Hormuz war)

5SevereActive war▲ escalating
Assessed 15 September 2026

Assessment

The US-Israeli war with Iran is in its seventh month with the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed to commercial traffic and the US naval blockade holding Iranian crude exports near 247,000 barrels a day. Diplomacy reopened rhetorically but not in substance: after the Trump administration signalled on Sept 15 that it was searching for ways to end the conflict and reopen the strait, Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei rejected negotiations unless Tehran's conditions are met, saying the stakes around oil and the straits have changed. The first regional attempt at a Hormuz arrangement collapsed before convening when Oman postponed the Sept 14 Salalah meeting of Iranian, Iraqi and Gulf foreign ministers on Sept 13 in the interests of consensus, hours after an attack on a commercial vessel near Qeshm Island killed one person. Brent rose about 1.8 percent to roughly 107.55 dollars a barrel on Sept 15 on the Saudi pipeline outage and fresh Houthi attacks, with Goldman Sachs flagging a raised probability of Brent above 120 dollars.

Recent, assessed

  • 2026-09-15Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei rejects negotiations with Washington unless Tehran's conditions are met, after the Trump administration signals it is seeking a way to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz (single-sourced). timesofisrael.com
  • 2026-09-15Brent rises 1.77 percent to about 107.55 dollars a barrel on the Saudi pipeline outage and fresh Houthi attacks; Goldman Sachs says the attacks raise the probability of Brent above 120 dollars. rte.ie
  • 2026-09-14Al Jazeera reports that a temporary Hormuz solution is deferred after the Iran-Arab meeting in Salalah falls through, with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi saying the postponement was in the interests of consensus. aljazeera.com

Level history

Threat level after each research review12 September 2026 baseline: level 5; 12 September 2026 weekly review: level 5; 14 September 2026 weekly review: level 5; 15 September 2026 weekly review: level 51234512 September 2026, baseline: level 5, Active war, trend escalating12 September 2026, weekly review: level 5, Active war, trend escalating14 September 2026, weekly review: level 5, Active war, trend escalating15 September 2026, weekly review: level 5, Active war, trend escalating12 Sep14 Sep15 Septoday

Levels set by research reviews. A level set by hand is shown at the top of the page while it is in force and is not part of this history.

DateLevelStatusTrendReview
2026-09-155Active war▲ escalatingWeekly review
2026-09-145Active war▲ escalatingWeekly review
2026-09-125Active war▲ escalatingWeekly review
2026-09-125Active war▲ escalatingBaseline

Latest headlines 54

Matched to this entry by keyword from the pull of 19 Sep, 11:09 UTC. Not reviewed; some may be off-topic.