Strait of Hormuz: World's Oil Chokepoint in the Face of Israel-Iran Conflict

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel launched an attack on Iran's nuclear and military sites on June 13, 2025, targeting several locations, including Tehran and major uranium enrichment facilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Operation Rising Lion as a means to eliminate the existential threat from Iran, prompting Iran to retaliate with Operation True Promise III. The potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz looms.

The Iranian government's media reported numerous casualties, including the death of the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami.

As a result of the Iran-Israel war, the shipment of goods through the Strait of Hormuz is also at risk, as Iran previously disclosed its plan to close the route in response to Western pressure.

The Strait of Hormuz, situated between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, spanning 39 kilometers in length and 33 to 95 kilometers in width, serves as the only open marine passage for oil shipping and one-third of the world's liquefied natural gas.

According to Al Jazeera reports, the Strait of Hormuz is the only marine entryway into the Persian Gulf. The strait stands as the sole marine passage connecting the Gulf states to the Arabian Sea and beyond.

Despite being at its narrowest point, only 33 kilometers wide, the navigable shipping lane for cargo ships in both directions is just 3 kilometers wide. The Strait of Hormuz also serves as the only maritime passage for shipping cargo to the outside world, prompting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to construct more oil pipelines to mitigate the issue of sea routes.

The large daily volume of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with very few alternative options for moving oil out of the strait if it is closed, is noteworthy. In 2024, the average oil flow through this strait amounted to 20 million barrels per day, approximately 20 percent of global oil consumption, as reported by the United States Energy Information Administration.

This figure includes a significant portion of oil from OPEC members such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, and Kuwait. Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, also ships a major portion of its gas through the strait.

The importance of the shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz has led the United States to deploy the 5th Fleet, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, to safeguard the historical maritime trade route. During the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, the two countries disrupted oil shipments through the strait.

In 1988, the US warship USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian passenger plane, resulting in 290 fatalities. Subsequently, in 2010, a Japanese oil tanker was attacked by a group linked to Al Qaeda.

In early 2012, Iran threatened to disrupt ships sailing through the strait in response to US and European sanctions targeting its oil sales. The Iranian government also threatened to cause trouble for oil tanker ships in the Strait of Hormuz in response to the oil embargo at that time.

In July 2018, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hinted that Iran could disrupt oil tanker ships passing through the strait, after the US attempted to restrict Iran's oil revenue.

Then, in May 2019, four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, were attacked near Fujairah, just beyond the strait. On June 13, 2019, two oil tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman were attacked, raising concerns about global oil supply.

Disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will have a significant impact on the global economy, potentially causing oil prices to skyrocket to $130 per barrel, as reported by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet on Monday, June 16, 2025, as cited by Antara.

Nurdin Saleh, Sita Planasari, and Correspondents & Reporters from JKT contributed to this article.

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