Iran is quietly turning Hormuz into a political checkpoint

Iran is no longer using the Strait of Hormuz only as a crisis weapon. Tehran is trying to turn the waterway into a lasting source of political and economic leverage. That shift should concern Washington and its Gulf partners. The Strait of Hormuz remains the world’s most important oil chokepoint. The US Energy Information Administration estimates that about 21 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products moved through the strait in 2022, equal to roughly 21 percent of global petroleum liquids consumption. Around one-fifth of global LNG trade also passed through Hormuz.  For decades, Iran threatened to close Hormuz during confrontations with the United States. Yet Tehran usually avoided full closure because the strait also serves Iran’s […]