In short, Iran has succeeded in blocking the Strait of Hormuz: achieving the catastrophic scenario that “the world has feared for decades,” notes Yonatan Adiri in the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot. With navigation almost at a standstill, about 20% of the world’s oil consumption no longer passes through. Fertilizer, helium, and aluminum are also affected.
In the long term, however, “Iran may well regret” deciding on this blockade, to which the United States responded with a counter-blockade. Because it has led to an awareness of the need to find alternative ways to deprive Iran of this exorbitant economic leverage.
A long-identified vulnerability
In reality, the Strait of Hormuz has long been identified as a source of vulnerability for the Gulf countries, writes the editorialist of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida, recalling his numerous articles on the subject. The oldest dates back to 2007, when it urged the region’s countries to negotiate with each other to establish an “oil duct through the coasts of Oman or a pipeline ending in the Red Sea via Saudi Arabia.”
The Saudi east-west pipeline, which connects the oil fields of eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea, has been a target for critics who have long argued that a disruption to the pipeline could have significant implications for the global oil market. (Context: The vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz has been a long-standing concern due to its crucial role in global oil transportation.)
