Simon Mattacks
speaker
2,982 appearances
18 recordings
3 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard yesterday
Simon Mattacks’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 15 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 3.
Appearances
And although it's generally governed by international maritime law, which means foreign vessels have the right of passage, that hasn't prevented Iran from threatening disruption.
In 2012, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz.
This was a reaction to the European Union banning oil exports from Iran.
For context, since 2006, the UN Security Council has imposed numerous sanctions against Iran, targeting their nuclear weapons program.
These sanctions have had a major impact on the Iranian economy.
So, in the midst of the dispute about oil exports, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, but didn't follow through.
In 2018, Iran once again threatened to close the strait in response to US sanctions.
Again, the strait remained open, but tension escalated.
The U.S.
accused Iran of harassing, attacking, or seizing international vessels, including oil tankers.
Then, in 2025, conflict between Iran and Israel and the United States led to yet another threat to close the strait.
But while the Iranian parliament voted to close it, once again, the strait remained open.
What's interesting about these incidents is that they didn't have much of an impact on oil prices.
There was no doubt that the closure of the strait would have a major effect on the global economy.
And yet, it seems that the general view was that the threats were just words.
Iran wasn't actually going to close the Strait of Hormuz.
It was a bluff.
Besides, it didn't seem to be in Iran's interest, given that their economy was also dependent on the Strait.
At least, that's what many thought up until recently.
In February, 2026, everything changed.
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