Strait of Hormuz: How a threat became a playbook | Al Jazeera Explains

For weeks, missiles lit up the skies across the Gulf. But even as the strikes unfolded, the real pressure point wasn't in the air. It was at sea. A 38-day offensive launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Fought across borders, across [music] capitals, across competing interests, pulling an entire region into [music] the fight. Cities were hit as targets or in retaliation. But the most powerful weapon wasn't a missile or a drone. It was a stretch of water. Strait of Hormuz the Strait of Hormuz the Strait of Hormuz the Strait of Hormuz the Strait of Hormuz. And when it closed, the world didn't just feel it, it held its breath. Oil prices surged, shipping froze, entire supply chains stopped. This isn't just a waterway, it's the key artery of the global economy. And in this conflict, [music] it became a weapon. This is always what they do, hold the Strait hostage. So, what exactly is the Strait of Hormuz? And why does it matter so much? To understand its power, you have to understand its shape. The Strait of Hormuz sits between Iran to the north and Oman and the UAE to the south. It connects the Gulf to the open ocean. But here's where its power lies. The actual shipping lanes, only about 3 km wide each, so narrow every ship has no choice but to pass through Iranian and Omani territorial waters. Two corridors, one in, one out, separated by a thin buffer. That's it. This is [music] one of the busiest energy corridors on Earth. Every day before the war, around 20 [music] million barrels of oil pass through it. That's roughly a fifth of global energy [music] supply. And it's not just oil. It's gas, fertilizer, aluminum, critical goods, entire economies depend on this route. China, India, Japan, much of Asia. So, many of them, this [music] isn't just a route, it's a lifeline. And when that lifeline is disrupted, [music] the shock waves go global. And there is a problem. There are almost no real alternatives. [music] Even the pipelines designed to bypass the strait towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman can [music] only carry around 6 to 9 million barrels a day, less than half of what Hormuz [music] handles. That's not enough. Not even close. So, when Hormuz slows down, the world speeds up into crisis. But this choke point isn't man-made. It was created millions of years ago. Two tectonic plates collided. The Arabian plate [music] pushed into Eurasia, forming mountains in what is today Iran. A depression filled with water became the Gulf. And that is edge and narrow exit, Hormuz. A geological accident named in ancient Persia became a geopolitical destiny. Because those same geological forces also created something else. One of the largest concentrations of oil and gas in Earth. So, now we have one of the world's biggest energy reserves forced through one of its narrowest passages. A perfect bottleneck. For Iran, the perfect weapon. And for centuries, whoever controlled this passage controlled the flow of wealth. And history shows it. In the 1500s, [music] the Portuguese seized it, turning it into a toll route for global trade. In the 20th century, Britain tried to blockade it to control Iranian oil. >> [music and bell] >> The Persian oil crisis had reached this stage. Would it have to close the refinery at Abadan, which works day and night to produce 25 million tons of oil a year? In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, it became a battlefield. This waterway has always been more than geography. It is leverage. [music] Iran has repeatedly warned it could close the strait if pushed [music] far enough. For years, that remained a threat until now. After a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28th that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran responded. Not just with missiles, not with a full blockade of the strait, but something more effective: [music] uncertainty and fear. Drones, sea mines, naval threats, just enough risk to stop ships from passing. Traffic dropped by more than 90%. But Iran didn't just choke the strait, it redefined it. Instead of a total shutdown, it created something else. A filter, a system, a toll booth. Ships were rerouted closer to Iranian waters. Some passed, some didn't. Some reportedly paid millions of dollars for transit to Tehran. Others got through because of diplomacy. China linked ships, [music] Indian tankers, and other countries that engaged Tehran directly. This wasn't chaos. It was control, [music] selective, strategic, and incredibly powerful because now the [music] strait wasn't just blocked, it was managed on Iran's terms. But here's where it gets even more complicated. Because what Iran did sits in a legal gray zone. Under [music] international law, waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are supposed to guarantee free transit for all [music] ships. No restrictions, no tolls. The Secretary-General stresses that all parties to this conflict must respect freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, in line with international law. But here's the problem. [music] The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea sets those rules. Iran [music] signed it, but never ratified it. The United States, it hasn't ratified it either. So, in this crisis, both sides are invoking international law while in practice interpreting it in completely different ways. And what we've seen in recent weeks doesn't fit neatly into any existing category. It's not a full blockade, it's not [music] open navigation, it's something else. Selective passage. Where access doesn't depend on law, but on politics, on alignment, on leverage. And if that becomes the new normal, then one of the world's most critical waterways is no longer governed by rules, but [music] by power. But why not just reopen it by force? Because Hormuz favors Iran. Geographically and militarily. Iran doesn't need a large navy. It uses asymmetric [music] warfare. Fast attack boats, coastal missiles, drones, all hidden across islands >> [music] >> and the coastline. In narrow waters, that's enough. Even the most powerful navy in the world struggles here. Because to choke an enemy financially, you don't need dominance, you need disruption. That's why even the United States held back. Because control of Hormuz is not about who is stronger, it's about who can make it unsafe. And when it became unsafe, the impact was immediate. Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel. Millions of barrels per day disappeared from the market. This wasn't just a regional crisis, it was global. In Asia, governments shortened the working week to reduce energy consumption. In Europe, fuel rationing began. In parts of Africa, electricity use was restricted. Because Hormuz stabilizes the global system. And when it breaks, everything else starts to wobble. Now, there's a pause. A two-week [music] ceasefire brokered by Pakistan came into effect on April 8th. Ships are slowly moving again under tight control. But nothing fundamental has changed. The core disputes remain. The war isn't officially resolved, [music] and crucially, Iran has demonstrated something new. Not just that it can [music] threaten the world through Hormuz, but that it can control it. Because this isn't just about oil, it is about power and influence. Hormuz is becoming [music] part of a wider contest over who controls not just energy, but the system behind it. For decades, the Strait of Hormuz was a warning, a scenario. Now, it is [music] a reality. A place where geography meets power, where global trade [music] meets regional conflict, and where a narrow strip [music] of water can hold the world economy hostage. Now, Iran is signaling it wants to formalize that control. As part of the recent negotiations held in Islamabad, Tehran proposed a new framework for [music] the strait, a protocol, one where passage is no longer automatic, but conditional. Iran says this is about security. Critics say it's about control. Across the Gulf, leaders are pushing back, demanding a say in any potential deal. Because for the entire region, >> [music] >> Hormuz isn't a strategy. It is survival. And as a ceasefire [music] takes down, initial talks between the US and Iran have already failed. President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy to begin blockading Hormuz, vowing to [music] stop any ships that comply with Iran's toll system. We have a blockade going into effect. That'll be 10:00 tomorrow. Other nations are working so that Iran will not be able to sell oil. Has the blockade started, sir? Yeah, started 10:00. The diplomatic path [music] is uncertain. Breaking news, Iran's Foreign Minister of Zarachi has just [music] announced that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open. Will you extend this ceasefire I don't know. [music] Maybe not. Maybe I won't extend it. But the blockade is going to remain. For the last time, Iran has announced that it's closing the Strait of Hormuz again. [music] So, the question is no longer what just happened, but what comes next. Because whatever [music] follows, something has already changed. The Strait of Hormuz has always been a point of leverage, but this is different. For the first time, it [music] was used not just as a weapon, but as a system. And it's not [music] clear anyone, especially in Washington, fully anticipated this. So, what's at stake is no longer just how this ends, it's whether this model of control becomes [music] the new normal. And if it does, then what began as [music] a military campaign to weaken Iran may have revealed something far more consequential. The difference between military strength and strategic [music] leverage. Because power alone didn't decide the outcome. Strategy did. And in doing [music] so, it turned the Strait of Hormuz from a threat into a playbook.