- What happened: The US dropped multiple GBU-72 5,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on hardened Iranian anti-ship missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz on March 17, 2026 — the weapon’s first confirmed combat deployment.
- Where: Along Iran’s coastline adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil shipping chokepoint.
- Impact: Tanker transits through the strait have fallen to a near-total halt. Oil is trading above $103 per barrel, up more than 40% since the war began. The IEA calls it the largest energy supply disruption in recorded history.
- What’s next: The US plans to reopen the strait unilaterally, with 5,000 Marines deploying to the region. No major allied nation has committed warships. Naval escort operations are weeks away from readiness.
The Strike: What CENTCOM Confirmed
On March 17, 2026, US Central Command confirmed that American forces dropped multiple 5,000-pound deep-penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM’s statement was unambiguous: the Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles stored at those sites posed a direct risk to international shipping in the strait.
The targets were fortified, underground launch and storage facilities — part of Iran’s coastal defense network built to threaten any vessel entering or leaving the Persian Gulf. Standard munitions would not have reached them. These sites required weapons engineered to punch through reinforced concrete and packed earth before detonating deep inside.
The strikes mark the third week of Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, 2026, with coordinated US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and senior leadership. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in those initial strikes, though independent confirmation of his death has remained limited. The conflict has since expanded well beyond the Gulf.
The GBU-72: First Confirmed Combat Use
The weapon used was the GBU-72 Advanced 5K Penetrator — a 5,000-pound bunker-buster developed for the US Air Force to destroy deeply buried, hardened targets. March 17, 2026 marked its first confirmed combat deployment anywhere in the world. The bomb completed initial flight testing from an F-15E at Eglin Air Force Base in October 2021 and entered production shortly after. It had not been used in any active conflict until this strike.
The GBU-72 uses a GPS and inertial navigation guidance kit derived from the JDAM system, giving it precision targeting in all weather conditions. No official penetration depth has been made public for this weapon. The US Air Force has stated its lethality is expected to be “substantially higher” than the older GBU-28 — which could reportedly penetrate around 150 feet of earth — as the GBU-72 was specifically designed to replace it against modern hardened targets. Each unit costs an estimated $288,000, making it considerably less expensive than the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator used against Iran’s nuclear sites earlier in this conflict.
The Aviationist reported that two B-1B bombers flew from RAF Fairford, UK on March 17 to carry out the strikes. The B-1B is one of the aircraft cleared to carry the GBU-72 externally.
The timing is significant. Despite three weeks of active conflict, Iran had not yet deployed its coastal anti-ship cruise missile inventory at scale. The US strikes appear designed to permanently remove that option before Iran could use those missiles against the naval convoys Washington is now preparing to send through the strait.
Those missiles were aimed at the strait — a waterway that is now operating at a fraction of its normal capacity.
Strait of Hormuz: Near-Total Shutdown
The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most critical oil chokepoint. Roughly 20% of global oil supply — around 20 million barrels per day — flows through it under normal conditions. Since February 28, those conditions have not existed.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, only 21 tankers transited the strait in the entire period from February 28 to mid-March, against a pre-war average of more than 100 ships per day. On the worst days — March 8 and 9 — only two vessels crossed, both Iranian-flagged. More than 150 ships anchored outside the strait, and roughly 400 vessels queued in the Gulf of Oman, according to Windward maritime intelligence. Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd suspended all transits.
Separately, Iran has confirmed at least 21 attacks on merchant ships as of March 12, conducted using drones, sea mines (underwater explosive devices designed to damage passing vessels), and anti-ship cruise missiles. The strikes have hit vessels of multiple nationalities with no consistent pattern, making risk assessment largely impossible for commercial operators.
One important nuance: on March 5, Iran’s IRGC announced the closure applied specifically to vessels linked to the US, Israel, and Western allies — not all shipping. By mid-March, some Chinese-linked, Indian, Turkish, and Saudi vessels had been permitted through, though without guarantees. One China-owned vessel broadcasting its affiliation was still struck by shrapnel on March 12.
Pre-war: more than 100 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz daily. Since February 28: S&P Global counts just 21 total tanker transits in three weeks.
Oil Markets and the Global Cost
The International Energy Agency has described this as the largest disruption to global energy supply in recorded history. Brent crude surpassed $100 per barrel on March 8 for the first time in four years, spiking to nearly $120 at its peak. As of March 17, Brent was trading above $103 per barrel, up more than 40% since the war began.
Goldman Sachs estimates that if disruptions persist into April with crude averaging around $110, US inflation could reach 3.3% and the bank’s recession probability for 2026 rises to 25%. Bank of America revised its full-year Brent forecast upward to $77.50 per barrel, from a prior estimate of $61.
More than 30 countries have coordinated the release of a combined 400 million barrels of emergency stockpiles through the IEA framework — the largest coordinated release on record. The US alone is contributing 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Analysts agree this steadies prices in the short term. It does not reopen the strait, and reopening the strait is the only real fix.
The stockpile release is buying time. Whether anyone acts on that time is the question the next section answers.
Washington Goes It Alone
Trump declared the US would reopen the Strait of Hormuz unilaterally, saying Washington no longer has a “need or desire” for allied help. He had previously pressed China, Japan, France, and the UK to send warships to protect tanker traffic. None have publicly committed.
The UAE has signaled it may join a US-led protection effort, according to a senior Emirati official — the only public indication of allied support so far. The US is also deploying 5,000 Marines to the region. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed coordination with Trump on the Hormuz issue, though an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post that Israel’s current role is limited to intelligence support.
Sources familiar with the planning told The Jerusalem Post that operations to reopen the strait could extend the overall war by as many as two months. Maritime security analysts have noted that naval escort operations, even if ordered immediately, would likely take weeks to become operationally effective.
✎ Editorial View · Santhosh Vishwamitra — Opinion, Not Reporting
Striking the Missiles Was the Right Call. But the Strait Is Still Closed.
The following is the author’s analysis and opinion. It is editorially separate from the factual reporting above.
The GBU-72 strikes make tactical sense. Iran had a stockpile of anti-ship missiles it had not yet deployed at scale. Leaving them intact while trying to protect shipping would have been indefensible. Removing that threat before it was used was sound military logic — and deploying a weapon on its confirmed combat debut is itself a statement about Washington’s intent and capability.
But tactics do not resolve strategy. Twenty-one tanker transits in three weeks against 100-plus per day is not a disruption — it is a near-total shutdown. The strikes, however precise, do not neutralize Iran’s remaining tools: drones, sea mines, and a leadership that has absorbed significant military damage without altering course.
Trump going it alone may project strength. The coalition absence is still a real problem. No major power has committed ships. Naval escorts are weeks away from readiness. Washington is running one of its most consequential naval operations with minimal multilateral cover — in the single waterway whose closure is already costing the global economy at a rate no stockpile release can indefinitely absorb.
The Bottom Line
The US used its newest bunker-buster in its first confirmed combat deployment to destroy Iranian missiles that could have made the strait permanently inaccessible. The strait is still largely closed. Oil is above $100. No allied warships are committed. And the war, by some estimates, may run two months longer because of what reopening Hormuz will require.
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