The strategic shipping lane carries a fifth of the world's oil. Analysts warn prolonged disruption could send fuel prices soaring and trigger a global economic slowdown.

The U.S. said it had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying ships amid fears Tehran could deploy hundreds of mines to effectively booby-trap the critical shipping lane.

The Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical chokepoint for oil shipments, has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel began the war on Iran.

President Trump has urged China, Britain, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships to help reopen the waterway, even though they were not involved in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.

Powerful storm system slams Midwest as East Coast braces for impact; Trump calls for other nations to help reopen Strait of Hormuz; Gas prices could reach $4 per gallon nationwide average this week; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz threaten to drive U.S. gas prices to record highs. The attacks could also have a cascading effect on other prices.

Retired Admiral Kevin Donegan, who commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Middle East during President Trump's first term, told ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. is not being taken off guard by Iran attempting to shut the Straits of Hormuz in response to U.

With fuel and freight prices skyrocketing as war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal is seeing more business than usual.