Iran weaponized the Strait of Hormuz. Now its neighbors are building around it
Iran Weaponized the Strait of Hormuz: Neighbors Build Alternatives
Activelifezero.com – Iran weaponized the Strait of Hormuz in a strategic move that has reshaped Middle Eastern energy dynamics. For nearly half a year, what began as a conflict with unclear objectives has evolved into a critical struggle for maritime control. The confrontation shifted from regime change aspirations to a fundamental contest over one of the world’s most vital energy corridors.
Brett McGurk, CNN’s global affairs analyst with senior national security positions across four presidential administrations, notes this development has taken an unexpected direction. The central question now involves whether this critical waterway will remain an open international passage or transform into a chokepoint where Tehran controls global commerce terms.
Massive Economic Consequences
Tehran’s strategy has been both methodical and disruptive. Rather than physically obstructing the passage, Iran has deployed drones and cruise missiles against commercial vessels. This approach effectively stops trade while challenging the assumption that the corridor would remain navigable during wartime. During the twelve-day conflict in June 2025, which featured American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the waterway continued operating normally. That confidence has now collapsed.
The economic consequences are enormous. If Iran secures control, the regime could collect tens of billions of dollars yearly in transit fees while regulating worldwide energy flows. McGurk explains that Iran would essentially become the thermostat for the global economy.
That’s enough, as President Donald Trump said before announcing a short-lived deal with Iran, to spark an “economic catastrophe.”
Comparing to Previous Crises
McGurk compares this situation to an earlier emergency. During his White House service, he observed how the Houthi movement used similar tactics—employing Iranian-supplied missiles and drones—to disrupt the Bab al-Mandeb passage. The United States formed a coalition and conducted an air campaign to reduce Houthi capabilities, yet could not stop every assault or completely restore commercial confidence.
The current situation differs substantially. The Bab al-Mandeb handles ten percent of worldwide shipping, which can modestly raise inflation. This corridor, by contrast, manages twenty percent of global energy trade. The American mission now involves a more intricate challenge: preventing Iran from launching attacks from distances beyond one thousand kilometers. It represents a classic needle-in-a-haystack operation, but on a considerably larger scale.
Regional Powers Create New Routes
Iran’s approach seeks to raise energy prices worldwide, hoping to force Washington into conceding control of the passage entirely. However, Tehran’s aggressive tactics—especially attacks on civilian ships throughout the Gulf—are producing a longer-term reaction that could ultimately weaken its position.
Across the Middle East, governments and energy companies are quickly advancing pipelines, ports, and transportation corridors designed to bypass the waterway rather than travel through it. The United States is offering direct assistance for these efforts. While this passage will certainly remain important, this marks the first time in decades that the region is making substantial investments in a future where the corridor might not be essential.
Before hostilities started, approximately twenty-three million barrels of energy products moved through the Strait of Hormuz daily. The waterway functioned as the primary export route for Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, while serving as the main transit corridor for products from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Today, regional governments are preparing for situations where the passage periodically closes or becomes commercially unpredictable. This transformation is fundamentally changing the strategic environment. Instead of depending on one indispensable chokepoint, nations are creating multiple export pathways that will gradually reduce Iran’s influence. These initiatives may not substitute all barrels that previously traveled through Hormuz, but they will significantly decrease its importance. Goldman Sachs has highlighted the significance of this evolution, acknowledging that the energy map of the Middle East is being redrawn specifically to counter Iran’s expanding control over this critical maritime route.
