US CENTCOM says routes for free transit through the Strait of Hormuz are open to all vessels not violating America's blockade against Iran thanks to CENTCOM forces, which have successfully cleared sea mines from primary transit lanes

Hormuz headlines have historically split into two cases: rhetoric or capability signals that fade, and physical interference with loadings, mines, seizures, or insurance withdrawal that re-prices crude through prompt spreads, freight, and war risk rather than flat price alone. The stated clearing of primary lanes lowers the closure tail, but the simultaneous blockade framing keeps an enforcement pathway alive, so the relevant distinction is open water versus selective interdiction of vessels deemed in violation. Precedent in this chokepoint is that risk premia tend to be sharp and mean-reverting unless tanker traffic, export loadings, or underwriter terms actually change. The actors matter: US naval forces set the security claim, Iran retains the capacity to raise friction, and shipowners, insurers, and Gulf exporters determine whether barrels keep moving. The tells are confirmation from vessel tracking and port operations, any change in war-risk cover, VLCC freight on Gulf routes, and the Brent/WTI prompt structure rather than the headline itself.