DUBAI | Iran has warned that U.S. energy facilities in the Gulf could be targeted in retaliation for further American attacks, while Tehran plans to announce a new exclusion zone near the Strait of Hormuz, as the United Arab Emirates moves to develop alternative routes for its energy exports and trade amid the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said American energy infrastructure in the region was exposed and warned that any further U.S. attack would prompt retaliation, according to Reuters. Tehran also said it would announce a new restricted or exclusion zone in the Gulf in the coming days and publish maps for a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz.
The planned exclusion zone comes as maritime traffic through the strategic waterway has fallen sharply following a series of attacks involving U.S. and Iranian forces. Reuters reported that the average number of commodity-carrying vessels passing through Hormuz over the past 10 days had dropped to about 10 a day, the lowest level since May.
The latest escalation followed U.S. strikes on three Iranian oil tankers and subsequent attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy on vessels in and around the Strait. The confrontation has heightened concerns that commercial shipping and global energy supplies could face further disruption.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Its disruption has implications far beyond the Middle East because large volumes of crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas normally pass through the waterway.
The UAE is now accelerating efforts to reduce its dependence on Hormuz. Presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the country was expanding port capacity and developing pipelines and railway links along its eastern coast to create alternative routes for energy and commercial shipments.
Gargash said UAE energy exports would not be “held hostage” by the war and warned that relations between Abu Dhabi and Tehran had suffered serious damage. He said rebuilding trust could take decades.
The UAE has already developed infrastructure that allows some oil exports to bypass Hormuz. Its Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline carries crude to the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, providing an alternative route outside the Strait.
The renewed confrontation is also putting pressure on global oil markets. Brent crude rose to nearly $97.50 a barrel on Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed above $92, as traders assessed the risk of further disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies. Reuters reported that analysts were warning that a prolonged deterioration in shipping conditions could produce a substantially larger supply shock.
For Iran, the proposed exclusion zone represents another attempt to exert control over maritime activity near a waterway through which a significant share of the world’s energy supplies normally moves. For Gulf states such as the UAE, the crisis is reinforcing a longer-term push to develop alternative infrastructure that can keep exports moving even when access to Hormuz becomes uncertain.
With diplomatic efforts still struggling to contain the conflict, the latest developments suggest that the Strait of Hormuz will remain a central pressure point in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, with consequences extending to global energy prices, shipping and inflation.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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