Key points
- One country in region that would face no direct consequences from blockade of Strait of Hormuz is Israel
- Closure of Strait of Hormuz would harm Iran’s own economy
- Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important gateway for oil shipping
- Israel and Iran launched fresh strikes on Sunday
ISLAMABAD: Israel would be the only country in the region not directly affected if there is a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Arab News, in an article titled “Analysis: What Happens if Iran Closes the Strait of Hormuz?”, noted that ironically, Israel would be the only country in the region not directly affected by such a blockade.
All of Israel’s estimated consumption of 220,000 barrels of crude a day comes via the Mediterranean, from countries including Azerbaijan (exported via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through Turkiye to the eastern Mediterranean), the US, Brazil, Gabon and Nigeria, Arab News reported.
The capability to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is one thing, a full closure is quite another, as it would harm Iran’s own economy given that it relies on the waterway for its oil exports, according to the article.
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Oman and Iran, is the world’s most important gateway for oil shipping.
Reports originating from lawmakers in Tehran began to circulate suggesting that Iran was now threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, The Arab News reported.
Iran has never fully closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway but it has threatened to do so many times in response to geopolitical tensions, according to Arab News.
Iran-Israel conflict
Israel and Iran launched fresh strikes on Sunday, killing and wounding people and raising concerns of a broader regional conflict, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further attacks.
An Iranian health ministry spokesperson, Hossein Kermanpour, said the toll since the start of Israeli strikes had risen to 224 dead and more than 1,200 wounded, 90 per cent of whom he said were civilians. Those killed included 60 on Saturday, half of them children, in a 14-story apartment block flattened in the Iranian capital, according to Arab News.
In Israel, at least 10 people were reportedly killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service claimed.
