Iran: The showdown over the Strait of Hormuz

Tehran threatens to block the world's busiest oil-shipping route. What would happen if the strait were closed?

Soldiers take part in Iranian naval maneuvers near Iran's Strait of Hormuz: Tehran has threatened to block the busy oil-shipping route, through which 17 million barrels of oil travel every da
(Image credit: Xinhua/Xinhua Press/Corbis)

Why is the Strait of Hormuz so important?

A narrow strip of water separating Iran from Oman, the strait is the major maritime link between the oil-rich Persian Gulf region and the rest of the world. Tankers carry 17 million barrels of oil, about a fifth of the world's supply, through the channel every day. Five of the planet's biggest oil producers — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates — rely on the waterway to ship almost all of their energy exports. The waterway is now at the center of the West's increasingly tense standoff with Iran, which in recent weeks has warned that it would shut the shipping artery if the U.S. or Europe tightened economic sanctions in response to its nuclear program. Iran's top naval commander, Habibollah Sayyari, said closing the strait would be "easier than drinking a glass of water." The Obama administration has publicly dismissed the threat as "saber rattling," but sent word to Tehran through back channels that closing the strait would cross "a red line" and provoke an American military response.

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