At its narrowest point, the strait is roughly 35 miles wide, according to Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a>. Its shipping lane, however, is even narrower: only 2 miles wide in either direction, separated by a 2-mile buffer zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the strait is wide enough and deep enough to handle the largest crude oil tankers, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration<\/a>, an organization that says it collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information. This makes the strait one of the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes for crude oil \u2013 with approximately 20% of the world\u2019s oil trade passing through the waterway. In 2025, nearly 20 million barrels per day of oil moved through the strait<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, which establishes rules for the peaceful use of the oceans and management of their resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, according to the New York Times. This has caused shipping insurance to <\/a>\u201csoar,\u201d as Bloomberg News reported, and effectively halted traffic<\/a> through the strait<\/a>, according to news reports and live maps of marine vessel trackers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Select tankers from India, Pakistan, Turkey and China have been allowed to pass in recent days<\/a>, 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 \u201cpermission-based transit.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump considering deploying the U.S. Navy<\/a> to escort vessels through the waterway, CNN reported. Multiple nations have declined<\/a> the president\u2019s appeal <\/a>for warships to open up the waterway.\u00a0<\/p>\n Julie Garey, an international relations expert at Northeastern, said the allies\u2019 refusal \u201cis years in the making\u201d after Trump\u2019s repeated criticisms of traditional allied nations and his \u201cwar on trade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like a continuation of the U.S.\u2019s economic policies towards other states and these tariff actions that the administration is taking,\u201d Garey said. \u201cAll of these things inform the way that we should understand responses to \u2013 or in many cases, non-responses to \u2013 the administration\u2019s request for military support.\u201d<\/p>\n Can the Strait be bypassed?\u00a0<\/p>\n Sanders says that there are \u201climited\u201d options for oil to bypass Hormuz.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, while the UAE pipeline can only add 700,000 barrels a day if Hormuz is closed.<\/p>\n Together, the additional capacity on the pipelines falls far short of what would be needed should Hormuz remain closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moreover, Sanders notes that \u201c\u2018available on paper\u2019\u201d and \u201c\u2018able to fully replace Hormuz,\u2019\u201d are not the same.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most likely outcome is partial rerouting, no substitution,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThis is very difficult for energy prices globally.\u201d<\/p>\n What about the U.S. taking control of Iran\u2019s oil? Are we going to invade Kharg Island?<\/p>\n Kharg Island, <\/a>is a coral outcrop about a third the size of Manhattan, located 15 miles off Iran\u2019s coast, in the Persian Gulf. The island processes 90% of Iran\u2019s oil exports, serving as a terminus for pipelines and a loading point for tankers.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Friday, the U.S. bombed military installations on the island<\/a>, but did not target its oil facilities<\/a>, according to Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MSNow on Saturday that it would target oil infrastructure across the Persian Gulf<\/a> should the country\u2019s oil facilities come under attack. On Monday, Trump told a PBS reporter that he might attack the island agai<\/a>n.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MAP1400.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n