The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic chokepoint for seaborne oil that Iran has long used as a geopolitical bargaining chip, with Tehran repeatedly threatening to close it during times of crisis. A senior naval commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards again threatened its closure in the event of an attack in late January. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump made good on his warnings of military action should the Islamic Republic fail to cut a deal to curb its nuclear program, with the US and Israel launching a joint operationtargeting regime sites and military facilities across Iran. Despite its frequent warnings of a blockade, Tehran has never acted on them, though it closed part of the strait briefly for “safety” reasons during recent military drills. Here are the key points to know about the waterway.
Gateway to the Gulf
The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is situated between Iran and Oman’s Musandam exclave, at the tip of a peninsula. Its narrowness, at around 50 kilometers (30 miles), and shallow waters, at no more than 60 meters (200 feet) deep, make it vulnerable to being sealed off militarily.
The strait is dotted with sparsely inhabited or desert islands, which are strategically important, notably the Iranian islands of Hormuz, Qeshm, and Larak. Also among them are the disputed islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Mussa, which lie between the UAE and Iran and provide a vantage point over the Gulf, and have been under Iranian control since 1971.
Oil transit hotspot
The strait is a vital corridor connecting the oil-rich Gulf with markets in Asia, Europe, North America, and elsewhere. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Strait of Hormuz is “one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.” About one-fifth of global oil and petroleum product consumption flows through the strait, averaging 20 million barrels per day in 2024, according to the EIA.
Around one-fifth of the global liquefied natural gas trade also transited the Strait of Hormuz in 2024, primarily from Qatar, it said. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have infrastructure to bypass the strait, potentially mitigating disruption, but their transit capacity remains very limited — around 2.6 million barrels a day. “Large volumes of oil flow through the strait, and very few alternative options exist to move oil out of the strait if it is closed,” the EIA warned. (Read More)
