Strait of Hormuz escorts may trigger Iran’s anti-ship missiles

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US would insure and protect oil tankers and other vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz may potentially bring Iran’s anti—ship missiles into play, adding a new dimension to a conflict largely defined by air power.

Iran is known to have at least six types of such missiles, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies. The size of the arsenal isn’t publicly known, though most are based on older Chinese designs and have maximum ranges of about 75 miles.

That doesn’t allow them to hit US Navy ships, which operate far from Iran’s shores. But it does provide thorough coverage of the strait, which is less than 25 miles wide at its narrowest point.

On Thursday, Iran’s IRIB News reported that an oil tanker was struck by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, around the same time an oil tanker suffered an explosion off the coast of Iraq.

“Iran has a fairly robust anti-ship missile arsenal,” said Sid Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute. “If shipping were to resume, these missiles would become more challenging.”

The strait is an essential passage for the oil market, handling about a quarter of the world’s seaborne trade. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all ship crude through Hormuz.

If tanker flows aren’t restored quickly, oil prices may surpass $100 a barrel, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Iran is also known to have a large arsenal of sea mines, which so far haven’t caused any damage in the conflict. Kaushal said placing the mines would be difficult because any Iranian vessel would be quickly attacked.

US Navy ships are equipped with a variety of defenses meant to stop or evade ballistic missiles, torpedoes and other weapons. Iran’s missiles are slow and most likely have outdated radar seekers, making them easier to defeat than more advanced designs.

Still, swarms of missiles could overwhelm the defenses of a single ship, especially if it also had to monitor whether the vessels it was escorting were being attacked, too.

Iran’s navy has been largely wiped out, according to the US Defense Department. More than a dozen ships were destroyed at anchor, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared a video Wednesday of a US submarine sinking an Iranian frigate with a torpedo.

Iran does operate several submarines, though they haven’t appeared in the conflict so far as either attackers or targets. The US has a wide range of anti-submarine assets in the area, including destroyers and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.

© 2026 Bloomberg