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The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has once again become a hotbed of tension as Iran prepares to launch a military campaign that could see fire enter a key global shipping lane.
Iran has warned ships that it will conduct live fire drills on Sunday and Monday over the crisis, where a fifth of all oil traded passes through the tight corridor between the Islamic Republic and Oman.
The US military’s Central Command issued its warning early Saturday, telling Tehran that anything “unsafe and ineffective.” conduct proximity to US forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases the risk of collisions, escalation and disruption.”
Here’s what you need to know about the drilling, the US warning, what caused the tension and what might happen next in the Strait of Hormuz.
An important waterway for global shipping
The Strait of Hormuz is like a curve when seen from above. Its lowest score is only 33 kilometers width.
It flows from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. From there, ships can travel to the rest of the world.
While Iran and Oman have their water in the area of the road, Corner it is considered an international waterway that all ships cannot navigate. The United Arab Emirates, home to the high-rise city of Dubai, also sits close to the waterway.
Long term is important in trading
The Strait of Hormuz has historically been important for trade, with pottery, ivory, silk and textiles moving from China through the region. In today’s age of large ships, the narrow channel was deep and wide enough to allow the oil to pass through.
Although there are pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that can avoid this area, the US Energy Information Administration says that “most of the volumes that pass through the road have no alternative routes out of the region.”
Most of the oil and gas flowing through the crisis goes to Asian markets. Threats along these lines have driven up global energy prices in the past, including during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.
Iran is planning exercises that could interfere with the trade route
A notice to sailors sent on Thursday by radio warned that Iran plans to launch “ship firing” in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday.
I links provided by the message sets out a potential drill in what is known as the Traffic Separation Scheme — a 3.2-kilometerre-wide, a two-lane system where ships entering the Persian Gulf go north and ships leaving the Gulf of Oman go south.
The European Union has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, but says it opposes the use of military force against the regime, as a US military team arrives in the region.
That northern lane is inside links of the drill. Although Iran has not provided any other public information about the training, it is likely to involve the country’s Revolutionary Guard.
The patrols operate an array of small, fast-attack vessels in the maritime zone that often have tense encounters with the US Navy.
The US issues a warning about Iranian exercises
Early Saturday morning, the US military’s Central Command issued a strong warning to Iran and the Revolutionary Guard regarding the vote.
While acknowledging “Iran’s right to operate professionally in the airspace and international waters,” it warned against interfering with or threatening U.S. warships or passing commercial vessels.
The command, which oversees the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, said it “will not tolerate insecurity. [Guard] actions” that would include its planes or ships getting too close to or pointing weapons at US warships.
The command added that “the US military has the most trained and lethal forces in the world.”
Controversies are high over the crackdown on Iran’s nuclear program
US President Donald Trump has threatened to launch a military strike against Iran after its bloody crackdown on protests across the country.
He laid down two red lines – the peaceful killing of protesters and Iran launching a wave of mass killings of those arrested.
In recent days, he has also included the end of Iran’s nuclear program. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and guided missile destroyers are now in the Arabian Sea where they can launch an attack if Trump wants it.
Iran has warned that it could launch its own pre-emptive strike or target US interests in the Middle East and Israel.
While the 12-day war has seen Iran fire ballistic missiles and Israel target dozens of them, Tehran maintains an arsenal of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles that can strike Gulf Arab states.
