Hormuz

Before the Portuguese conquest, the city of Hormuz on the island was one of the most prosperous trading hubs in the medieval world, described by Marco Polo as 'a great and noble city' in the 13th century. Merchants from Arabia, India, China, and East Africa converged there to trade spices, silk, pearls, and horses.

While Iran dominates the headlines, the Strait of Hormuz is jointly shared between Iran and Oman. Oman controls the Musandam Peninsula — a non-contiguous exclave separated from mainland Oman by the UAE — which forms the strait's southern shore. Any ship using the international shipping lanes technically passes through Omani territorial waters.

The Strait of Hormuz is not just an oil chokepoint — it is also the only exit for Qatar's massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Qatar is the world's largest LNG exporter, supplying Europe and Asia. Any closure of the strait would simultaneously cut off both global oil and LNG supply, a double economic blow without precedent.

In 1515, Portuguese explorer Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Hormuz Island and built a fortress there, making it a key node in Portugal's Indian Ocean trade empire. The Portuguese controlled the strait and taxed all passing trade for over 100 years until the Safavid Persians, aided by the British East India Company, expelled them in 1622.

Hormuz Island, which gives the strait its name, is a geological marvel covered in vivid red iron-oxide soil so striking that it looks like a Martian landscape. The island also features salt caves, colorful mineral-streaked cliffs, and a rainbow mountain. Locals use the red soil as a spice in food and as a natural paint.

During the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), both sides used the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf as a battlefield — a conflict dubbed the 'Tanker War.' Iran mined the waters extensively, damaging dozens of oil tankers. The US launched Operation Earnest Will in 1987 to escort Kuwaiti tankers, resulting in naval skirmishes with Iranian forces.

The United States Navy's Fifth Fleet, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, was re-established in 1995 with the primary mission of ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding Persian Gulf. It permanently patrols one of the most strategically sensitive bodies of water on Earth.

Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz during periods of heightened tension with the West on multiple occasions, most notably in 2011–2012 and 2018–2019. Even a brief closure would send oil prices soaring and trigger a global economic shock, as there are no adequate pipeline alternatives that could absorb the full volume of traffic.

Despite controlling a fifth of the world's oil supply, the Strait of Hormuz narrows to just 33 kilometers (21 miles) at its tightest point. The actual navigable shipping lanes are even narrower — two corridors of just 3.2 km each, separated by a 3.2 km buffer zone, carrying traffic in opposite directions simultaneously.

Roughly 17–21 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products transit the Strait of Hormuz daily, representing about 20% of global oil consumption. No other maritime chokepoint on Earth comes close — making it the single most important oil corridor in the world, and a constant focus of geopolitical tension.