Experts call the Strait of Hormuz “one of the most important chokepoints in the global energy system.”
It’s also one of the most important assets in the Iran War.
“The Strait of Hormuz is the epicenter of this whole conflict,” said Jonathan Rock Rokem, associate professor of politics and sustainability at Northeastern University London. “That’s where the zero-sum end game starts and ends.”
But what is this strait and why is it so important?
Northeastern Global News spoke with experts on supply chains, geopolitics and the Middle East on why the Strait of Hormuz is dominating headlines and why control of the waterway has implications from Tehran to Beijing to Wall Street.
What is the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz is located between Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south and Iran to the north, and it connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the only sea passage in and out of the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.
At its narrowest point, the strait is roughly 35 miles wide, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Its shipping lane, however, is even narrower: only 2 miles wide in either direction, separated by a 2-mile buffer zone.
Nevertheless, the strait is wide enough and deep enough to handle the largest crude oil tankers, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an organization that says it collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information. This makes the strait one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes for crude oil – with approximately 20% of the world’s oil trade passing through the waterway. In 2025, nearly 20 million barrels per day of oil moved through the strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz is not just an important lane; it is the gate,” said Nada Sanders, distinguished professor of supply chain and information management at Northeastern University.
The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea passage in and out of the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. (Jonathan Raa / Sipa USA) (Sipa via AP Images)
Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?
The shipping lanes in the strait are located primarily in Omani territorial waters and partially in Iranian territorial waters, but they are governed by international maritime law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which establishes rules for the peaceful use of the oceans and management of their resources.
Iran has asserted its geographic advantage to effectively control the strait; however, since the U.S.-Israeli attacks killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. Firing drones and missiles from its shore, Iran has attacked and threatened to attack ships, according to the New York Times. This has caused shipping insurance to “soar,” as Bloomberg News reported, and effectively halted traffic through the strait, according to news reports and live maps of marine vessel trackers.
Select tankers from India, Pakistan, Turkey and China have been allowed to pass in recent days, according to the Al Jazeera global news organization. Windward, a maritime intelligence tracking group, said on Tuesday that traffic in the strait has declined by 97% and that Tehran is allowing only “permission-based transit.”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump considering deploying the U.S. Navy to escort vessels through the waterway, CNN reported.
But Rock Rokem said that escorts from U.S. warships are not enough
“You can’t really control the Strait without controlling the Iranian side of the Strait because there are too many places where the Iranians can hide with drones and missiles,” Rock Rokem said. “The U.S. and Israel will have to take the northern shore, basically the Iranian coast, if they want to really sustain the shipping routes for the long run.”
Multiple nations have declined the president’s appeal for warships to open up the waterway.
Julie Garey, an international relations expert at Northeastern, said the allies’ refusal “is years in the making” after Trump’s repeated criticisms of traditional allied nations and his “war on trade.”
“It feels like a continuation of the U.S.’s economic policies towards other states and these tariff actions that the administration is taking,” Garey said. “All of these things inform the way that we should understand responses to – or in many cases, non-responses to – the administration’s request for military support.”
That refusal could have major consequences.
“The side that actually manages to control the strait are going to be the victors in this war,” Rock Rokem said.
Can the Strait be bypassed?
Sanders says that there are “limited” options for oil to bypass Hormuz.
Geography prevents an alternative sea lane, Sanders said, so the options that do exist are pipelines that move crude over land to ports outside the Strait.
Saudi Arabia has a small petroleum line that moves crude across the country to the Red Sea, Sanders said, while the UAE has a pipeline that carries crude to the Gulf of Oman.
But the International Energy Agency has estimated that the Saudi line can only add 3 million to 5 million barrels a day, depending on operating conditions, while the UAE pipeline can only add 700,000 barrels a day if Hormuz is closed.
Together, the additional capacity on the pipelines falls far short of what would be needed should Hormuz remain closed.
Moreover, Sanders notes that “‘available on paper’” and “‘able to fully replace Hormuz,’” are not the same.
“The most likely outcome is partial rerouting, no substitution,” Sanders said. “This is very difficult for energy prices globally.”
What about the U.S. taking control of Iran’s oil? Are we going to invade Kharg Island?
Kharg Island, is a coral outcrop about a third the size of Manhattan, located 15 miles off Iran’s coast, in the Persian Gulf. The island processes 90% of Iran’s oil exports, serving as a terminus for pipelines and a loading point for tankers.
On Friday, the U.S. bombed military installations on the island, but did not target its oil facilities, according to Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MSNow on Saturday that it would target oil infrastructure across the Persian Gulf should the country’s oil facilities come under attack. On Monday, Trump told a PBS reporter that he might attack the island again.
Sanders noted, however, that JPMorgan has warned in a report that seizing the island would stall Iran’s exports, cut its output roughly in half and likely trigger retaliation.
“Prices would rise sharply, because traders would treat that as a major war escalation,” Sanders said.
Rock Rokem added that the island is “not an easy take.”
“There needs to be a ground operation if they want to take the island,” Rock Rokem said. But it’s not just about taking the island, it’s about taking the shore as well.”
It’s the same situation as the Strait of Hormuz, Rock Rokem said.