Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance
Around 40 oil tankers transited the waterway carrying 16 million barrels of oil, according to Axios citing US officials.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Guerra in Iran, le news di oggi. Teheran: “Colpiremo i Paesi che aderiscono alla guerra economica Usa”
Photograph: La Repubblica (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States alters its policy, according to Iranian National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei.
- Around 40 oil tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on the night of August 22, carrying approximately 16 million barrels of oil, Axios reported, citing US officials.
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a press conference to discuss new sanctions against Iran.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 3 of the 9 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
45/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
30/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Iranian National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei stated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States changes its stance. He added that Iran would strike the interests of countries that cooperate with the US in its economic war against Iran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that he would hold a press conference to discuss new sanctions on Iran, which he described as the harshest in history.
On the night of August 22, approximately 40 oil tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz, carrying about 16 million barrels of oil. This information comes from Axios reporter Barak Ravid, who cited US officials. The tankers used the southern channel along protected coastlines. Al Bawaba reported that this activity occurs within Iran's policy of selective passage, where some ships are permitted to cross while others are threatened with targeting if they attempt to pass without approval.
Disagreement on the duration of the Strait's closure
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and will not reopen until the US changes its attitude and respects its commitments. La Repubblica reported this statement. Al Bawaba also reported that Iran is pursuing a policy of selective passage through the Strait of Hormuz, granting some vessels permission to pass while threatening to target others.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention the specific detail that Donald Trump posted a map on social media calling the Strait of Hormuz "new US territory." The centre-rated media did not cover this story at all.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 23 Aug 2026, 04:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- La Repubblica, the sole left-rated outlet, led with a headline stating "War in Iran, Today's News. Tehran: 'We Will Strike the Countries that Adhere to the U.S. Economic War'." The report highlighted statements from Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, regarding Iran's response to aggressive US actions and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It also mentioned US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's announcement of new sanctions. The outlet also noted Donald Trump's social media post calling the Strait of Hormuz "new US territory."
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
5 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports from Al Bawaba, ussanews.com, Nemos News Network, and Zero Hedge focused on the transit of approximately 40 oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz carrying 16 million barrels of oil, citing Axios and US officials. Al Bawaba also reported on Iran's policy of selective passage through the strait and mentioned that the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was preparing to announce the harshest sanctions ever against Iran. The headlines from ussanews.com, Nemos News Network, and Zero Hedge also included the phrase "But Real Crisis Is Diesel."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 9. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance biased?
- Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance is one event reported by 9 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed until US changes stance?
- 9 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why will the Strait of Hormuz remain closed?
- Iranian National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei stated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States changes its policy and respects its commitments. He also indicated that Iran would take action against countries cooperating with the US in its economic war.
- How many oil tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz?
- According to Axios, citing US officials, approximately 40 oil tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on the night of August 22. These tankers were carrying about 16 million barrels of oil.
- What action is the US planning against Iran?
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a press conference to discuss new sanctions against Iran. He described these measures as the harshest in history and indicated they might extend to entities assisting Iran's foreign trade.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
5- Axios: 40 Tankers Transited Hormuz Friday Night, But Real Crisis Is Diesel (opens ussanews.com in a new tab)
ussanews.com — is ussanews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Axios: 40 Tankers Transited Hormuz Friday Night, But Real Crisis Is Diesel (opens Nemos News Network in a new tab)
Nemos News Network — is Nemos News Network biased? Our profile of this outlet
- 40 Oil Tankers Crossed the Strait of Hormuz; 16 Million Barrels of Oil Passed Through the Southern Route. (opens Al Bawaba in a new tab)
- Axios: 40 Tankers Transited Hormuz Friday Night, But Real Crisis Is Diesel (opens Zero Hedge in a new tab)
Zero Hedge — is Zero Hedge biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Around 40 tankers transit Strait of Hormuz Friday night (opens ایران اینترنشنال in a new tab)
ایران اینترنشنال
Not rated
3- About 40 Tankers Passed Through the Strait of Hormuz in One Night (opens ТСН.ua in a new tab)
- In One Night, 40 Tankers Were Transported Across the Strait of Ormuz 16 Million Barrels of Oil (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Axios: 40 Tankers Transited Hormuz Friday Night, But Real Crisis Is Diesel (opens BizToc in a new tab)
How did this read?
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