What is Strait of Hormuz & why its closure by Iran could disrupt global energy trade

Hossein Shariatmadari, a close confidante to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the managing editor of Kahyan, a conservative newspaper, has called for the strait to be closed to French, British, German and American ships, and for a military strike at the US naval fleet located in Bahrain, according to reports. Senior leaders and ultraconservative hawks in Iran pushed for the narrow sea passage to be shut down in retaliation to the attack. Roughly 20 percent of the world's oil flows through the strait. New Delhi: Fears over the possibility of Tehran shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and disrupting…