Why is the straits of hormuz important

This maritime chokepoint became an arena of conflict during the Iran-Iraq War in the s. To avoid being targeted, Kuwaiti oil tankers were reflagged under the U. Although crude oil continued to flow, marine insurance rates for vessels operating in the strait spiked by as much as percent. Those higher costs likely contributed to higher gasoline and diesel prices worldwide. What is happening now? Iran does not need superior military strength to fulfill its threat to disrupt trade flows through the strait.

It could damage commercial shipping with relatively cheap anti-ship missiles, fast patrol boats, submarines and mines. But analysis from retired Adm. Dennis Blair and Kenneth Liberthal concluded that Iran would have trouble stopping all shipping through the strait.

Modern cargo vessels are massive and difficult to disable. While the June 13 attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman raised fears about the global oil supply and new questions about the security of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. On July 11, the UK said that three Iranian vessels had unsuccessfully tried to impede the passage of a British commercial ship, a claim Iran rejects.

A week earlier, the UK seized an Iranian oil tanker suspected of transporting crude oil to Syria in contravention of European Union sanctions off the coast of Gibraltar. Published On 11 Jul Where exactly is the Strait of Hormuz? How wide is it? Is it really the only way out of the Gulf? How much oil and gas passes through? What naval force protects the region? Is there a history of vessels being attacked?

By targeting the tankers, Iraq hoped to cripple Iran economically and force the closure of the choke point. The danger of the Strait closing had reached such a level in that a U. As historian Martin S. Navias has written , that U. But in July , a month prior to the end of the Iran-Iraq war, the U. Officers on board the Vincennes mistakenly identified the Airbus as an Iranian F fighter jet that they perceived to be attacking the U. All people on board, most of them Iranian citizens, died.

Against the tense atmosphere of the ongoing conflict affecting the Strait, the incident elicited fury in Iran. Despite seeking international condemnation of the U.

Dual naval exercises by the U. Last year, President Trump withdrew the U. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said in May that the country would begin stockpiling extra low-enriched uranium in response to the U. Against this backdrop, activity in the Strait of Hormuz too has increased in recent months, culminating in the seizure of the Stena Impero.

On May 12, four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, were attacked in the Gulf just outside the Strait. Just a month later on June 13, a similar incident happened involving two tankers, one Norwegian and the other Japanese.