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Iran effectively controls Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb routes
The outlet notes that Iran-linked disruptions have affected how tankers can move oil and LNG toward major Asian and European markets.
OilPrice describes how Iran has gained de facto control of two major maritime energy chokepoints, the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, for as long as the current Iranian regime remains in place. The piece argues that this control can constrain both eastbound flows to China and India and westbound shipments toward the Mediterranean via the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
According to OilPrice, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively controlled by Iranian forces along its eastern stretch, limiting the ability for oil or LNG to move out of the Middle East either to reach big Asian buyers through the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea or to head west into the Gulf of Aden.
The outlet also says Iran-backed Houthis control what happens to tankers attempting to access the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the Gulf of Aden, including activity before ships pass through the Gulf of Suez and into the Mediterranean Sea.
OilPrice adds that prior to a US and Israeli operation launched on 28 February, Iran had flagged the possibility of closing both waterways if threatened, and that after the attacks and Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, interference in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has persisted.