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In light of the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, nations that depend heavily on energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz are actively seeking solutions to reopen this vital maritime trade route. The current turmoil has underscored the strategic importance of the Strait, prompting calls for international cooperation to stabilize the situation.
On Thursday, the United Kingdom hosted a gathering of representatives from 41 countries to formulate strategies for reopening the Strait. The meeting spotlighted Iran as the primary player obstructing the global economy by hindering this crucial shipping passage.
Though not openly discussed during the meeting, there is significant discontent among international allies towards former President Trump’s abrupt initiation of military actions in Iran on February 28. This operation was launched without a contingency plan for maintaining open access to the Strait and without prior consultations with key global partners now being asked to help resolve the crisis.
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed strong opposition to the U.S.’s military campaign against Iran. He has resisted President Trump’s calls for European nations to join the military efforts aimed at reopening the Strait.
“They cannot then complain about not being supported in an operation they decided on their own. It is not our operation,” Macron stated to journalists on Thursday during his visit to South Korea, highlighting the lack of international consensus on the issue.
Macron was responding to a question about Trump’s announcement on April 1 that he was preparing for major strikes against Iran. The U.S. president on Thursday said the U.S. has Iran’s bridges and electricity plants on a target list.
At the United Nations, Bahrain has authored a United Nations Security Council Resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait, but is facing opposition from veto-wielding China, Reuters reported. The resolution is expected to go to a vote next week.
Trump has lashed out against European nations who have rebuffed his requests for assistance, ranging from the petty — taking personal jabs at Macron’s marriage — to the existential, threatening to withdraw the U.S. from NATO.
European leaders and other nations reliant on energy exports from the Gulf are confronting the reality that they must develop action plans in the face of uncertainty around how long the Iran war will continue, and what Trump’s exit strategy might look like.
Trump has given wildly contradicting statements over the past few days on the Strait of Hormuz. On April 1, in his primetime address to the nation, he said “countries of the world” most reliant on energy exports from the Gulf must take the lead on opening up the passage.
“They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. We will be helpful,” he added.
In the same speech, he said the passage would “open up naturally” when the fighting ended.
On Friday, Trump said that with more time, the U.S. could open the strait, “TAKE THE OIL,& MAKE A FORTUNE,” in a post on his social media site Truth Social.
Iran has succeeded in effectively closing the Strait by carrying out missile and drone attacks on some ships, threatening further attacks, and potentially mining the waterway. Tehran has allowed a few dozen ships from friendly nations through upon request, but that does little to relieve the major economic and humanitarian shocks rippling across the globe.
And Iran is strengthening its control over the waterway, demanding as part of any ceasefire deal to be recognized as the sovereign authority over the passage. Its parliament on Thursday approved a plan to collect tolls on vessels traveling through the Strait, although it said it would require approval from neighboring states.
Bloomberg reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is exercising control over the strait, imposing demands on ships currently stuck in the passage for them to pass through. If a ship can confirm it has no links to the U.S. or Israel, the IRGC begins conversations about a toll amount, with preferential treatment for countries deemed friendly to Tehran.
Starting prices for oil tankers can be $1 per barrel, with some tankers carrying up to 2 million barrels, and payments made in Chinese Yuan or cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported.
The U.K.-hosted summit rejected Iran’s tolls on transiting ships. The summit participants agreed on four action items to combat Iran’s control of the waterway.
This includes diplomatic pressure on Iran to permit free passage through the Strait and “explore” the options of sanctions to punish Iran if it keeps the Strait closed. The countries also discussed greater cooperation with shipping operators to support “operational confidence” and using the International Maritime Organization to “secure the release” of thousands of ships and sailors trapped in the Strait.
Meanwhile, foreign governments are rationing oil and gas amid the halt in transit and confronting how the Strait’s blockage impacts the world’s food supplies. Among the knock-on effects include farmers needing to ration fuel to power their equipment, and grappling with shortages in fertilizer deliveries that also transit the Strait.
The humanitarian impact is dire, with countries embroiled in conflict already under strain and donor fatigue impacting support to nongovernmental organizations working to alleviate the suffering.
Last month, the UN launched a task force to address the humanitarian impact of the Strait’s closure. The goal is to develop and propose technical mechanisms to meet humanitarian needs.
The initiative garnered support from the International Crisis Group, which convened dozens of prominent former leaders and humanitarian officials to add their names to a statement of support. It said that the focus is on getting Iran to permit critical supplies of fertilizer and related materials, like sulfur and ammonia, through the Strait.
“The initiative would be independent of any plan to open the Strait by force. Such an approach would serve both Iranian and U.S. interests,” the statement reads. “It would protect Iran’s own food security and underline its claim that its selective control of the waterway is aimed only at belligerents. Meanwhile, it would also help farmers and consumers, while lowering the conflict’s costs to the rest of the world.”
The statement points to the experience of the UN helping mediate the export of grain through the Black Sea amid Russia’s assault against Ukraine. That initiative worked for a number of months until Russia withdrew its participation. Ukraine then carved out a path for ships to transit avoiding Russian threats and ensuring the export of foodstuffs critical to the global supply.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with NewsNation broadcast Thursday, said his advice is for efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz is to separate it from negotiations on the war.
“That’s what I said to Middle East countries, my opinion, in my experience, what we can do first is parallel tracks. The war and negotiation of energy, to my mind don’t connect,” he said.
But Zelensky said Ukraine also stands by ready to help “control the Strait unilaterally,” laying out a plan requiring interceptors, military convoys to escort vessels, “a large integrated electronic warfare network, and other tools.”
“We stand ready to help with this. But for now, we are not yet involved,” he said in a post on X.
“So far, no one has made such a request. We are simply sharing our knowledge. If one day our partners want to make use of it, we would be ready.”