What is the Strait of Hormuz, and will Iran block it? – DW – 06/23/2025 | EUROtoday

China has referred to as on the worldwide group to work towards de-escalation of the Iran disaster, given the mounting threat of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Guo Jiakun mentioned on Monday that China was working to stop instability within the area brought on by the Israel-Iran battle from spilling over into the worldwide economic system.

Iran’s parliament on Sunday backed closing the important strait, saying the transfer has come in response to the bombing of Iran’s nuclear amenities by the United States over the weekend.

After the choice, a senior Iranian lawmaker, Esmaeil Kowsari, instructed reporters in Tehran that parliament has concluded that it ought to shut the Hormuz Strait, however added that “the final decision lies with the Supreme National Security Council.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has referred to as on China to stop Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them [Iran] about that, because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio mentioned in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

“If they [close the Strait]… it will be economic suicide for them. And we retain options to deal with that,” he mentioned.

What’s the present state of affairs within the strait?

The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway that lies between Oman and Iran, and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) describes it because the “world’s most important oil transit chokepoint.”

At its narrowest level, the waterway is simply 33 kilometers (21 miles) large, with the delivery lane simply two miles large in both route, making it crowded and threatening.

Large volumes of crude extracted by OPEC nations like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq from oil fields throughout the Persian Gulf area and consumed globally move by means of the strait.

Around 20 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels are estimated to move by way of the waterway day by day, based on knowledge from Vortexa, an power and freight market marketing consultant.

Qatar, one of many world’s largest producers of liquefied pure fuel (LNG), depends closely on the strait to ship its LNG exports.

The battle between Israel and Iran has put renewed deal with safety within the waterway.

Iran has up to now threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz for site visitors in retaliation to Western stress.

Since the battle between Israel and Iran broke out, nevertheless, there have not been any main assaults on industrial delivery within the area.

But shipowners are more and more cautious of utilizing the waterway, with some ships having tightened safety and others canceling routes there, the AP information company reported.

Electronic interference with industrial ship navigation techniques has surged in current days across the waterway and the broader Gulf, naval sources instructed the Reuters information company. This interference is having an impression on vessels crusing by means of the area, they mentioned.

As there seems to be no fast finish to the battle, markets stay on edge. Any blockade of the waterway or disruptions to grease flows might set off a pointy spike in crude costs and hit power importers laborious, notably in Asia.

Meanwhile, tanker charges for vessels carrying crude and refined oil merchandise from the area have jumped in current days.

The price to ship fuels from the Middle East to East Asia climbed virtually 20%, Bloomberg reported final week, citing knowledge from the Baltic Exchange. Rates to East Africa, in the meantime, jumped greater than 40%.

Who will likely be most affected in case of provide disruption?

The EIA estimates that 82% of crude and different gasoline shipments that traversed the strait went to Asian shoppers.

China, India, Japan and South Korea had been the highest locations with these 4 nations collectively accounting for almost 70% of all crude oil and condensate flows that traversed the strait.

These markets would possible be most affected by provide disruptions in the strait.

How will a closure have an effect on Iran and Gulf states?

If Iran takes concrete motion to shut the strait, it might doubtlessly draw navy intervention from the United States.

The US Fifth Fleet, based mostly in close by Bahrain, is tasked with defending industrial delivery within the space.

Any transfer by Iran to disrupt oil flows by means of the waterway might additionally jeopardize Tehran’s ties with Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — nations Iran has painstakingly improved relations with in recent times.

Gulf Arab nations have thus far criticized Israel for launching the strikes in opposition to Iran, but when Tehran’s actions hinder their oil exports, they may be pressured to facet in opposition to Iran.

Moreover, Tehran itself depends on the Strait of Hormuz to ship its oil to its prospects, making it counterproductive to shut the strait, say consultants.

“Iran’s economy heavily relies on the free passage of goods and vessels through the seaway, as its oil exports are entirely sea-based,” Reuters quoted JP Morgan analysts Natasha Kaneva, Prateek Kedia and Lyuba Savinova as saying. “Cutting off the Strait of Hormuz would be counterproductive to Iran’s relationship with its sole oil customer, China.”

Are there options to the Hormuz Strait?

Gulf Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sought different routes to bypass the strait in recent times.

Both nations have arrange infrastructure to move a few of their crude by way of different routes.

Saudi Arabia, as an example, operates the East-West Crude Oil Pipeline with a capability of 5 million barrels per day, whereas the UAE has a pipeline linking its onshore oil fields to the Fujairah export terminal on the Gulf of Oman.

The EIA estimates that round 2.6 million barrels of crude per day could possibly be obtainable to bypass the Strait of Hormuz within the occasion of disruptions within the waterway.

Edited by: Uwe Hessler

Editor’s word: This article was first printed on June 18, 2025, and up to date on June 23 to include the choice by Iran’s parliament to suggest a closure of the strait.