Why did the United States and western European countries become involved in protecting oil tankers during the Tanker War?

The United States and several western European nations intervened during the Tanker War primarily to ensure the safe passage of oil and gas shipments through the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.12

The Persian Gulf holds immense strategic importance because it contains a significant portion of the world’s proven oil and natural gas reserves. During the Iran-Iraq War, both belligerents began systematically attacking oil tankers to disrupt each other's economic capacity. Iran also targeted tankers associated with Kuwait and other Gulf Arab states that supported Iraq.345

Because the global economy relies heavily on energy exports from this region, these attacks threatened to destabilize global energy supplies. Consequently, international powers stationed warships in the gulf to protect commercial shipping and maintain the flow of oil to the rest of the world. This intervention, most notably the U.S.-led Operation Earnest Will, marked a significant increase in international involvement in the conflict.1645