Strait of Hormuz Crucial Oil Route Six Months Hanging

JAKARTA - The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial bargaining tool throughout the armed conflict between the US-Israel and Iran. The strait has been practically closed by Iran since the fighting broke out in late February 2026.

Both Iran and Oman have given positive signals that an agreement on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz may be reached, although Tehran immediately confirmed that the agreement would not immediately reopen the waterway.

Last weekend, Tehran's national security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr issued a list of demands that the US must meet before Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.

The list includes measures such as the lifting of a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, the withdrawal of military forces, and a permanent end to the war.

The narrow waterway stretching between Iran and Oman serves as a key route for crude oil shipments from oil-rich countries - such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait - to the rest of the world.

Iran controls the northern side of the strait. According to the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) - which calls this route a crucial point of oil traffic - about 20 million barrels of oil, or about a fifth of global daily production, usually flows through the strait every day.

The EIA also said there are few alternative options for getting oil out of the strait if the line is closed.

The strait is also a route for about a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade.

Energy analysts warn that oil and natural gas prices are likely to remain high until the strait can be reopened, even though Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are trying to expand other routes to channel their crude oil to the market.