From Ancient Trade Route to Modern Warzone: History of the Strait of Hormuz

Global shipping and energy markets keep a close eye on narrow maritime chokepoints, especially when conflict threatens oil and cargo traffic. The Strait of Hormuz, a 21-mile-wide passage between Iran and Oman at its narrowest point, has moved from an ancient trade corridor to a frontline zone in modern military standoffs.

A waterway shaped by trade and empire

For centuries, the Strait of Hormuz linked the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, making it a direct route for trade between Mesopotamia, Persia, India and East Africa. Historians trace organized maritime trade in this region back at least 2,000 years, and the nearby Kingdom of Hormuz rose as a commercial power by the 13th century, according to Encyclopaedia Iranica and other regional histories.

In 1507, Portuguese forces under Afonso de Albuquerque seized Hormuz Island, aiming to control customs revenue and shipping routes. Portugal held influence there until 1622, when Shah Abbas I of Persia, working with the English East India Company, retook the island and shifted trade patterns along the Gulf.

That long commercial history helps explain why the strait still matters. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in 2024 that about 20 million barrels of oil per day moved through the Strait of Hormuz in 2023, equal to roughly 20 percent of global petroleum liquids consumption.

Why the Strait of Hormuz is now tied to conflict

The modern security story sharpened after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when Iran’s relationship with the United States and several Gulf neighbors changed dramatically. During the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, the so-called Tanker War saw both sides target commercial shipping, with hundreds of vessels attacked in the Gulf, according to the U.S. Naval Institute and Congressional Research Service reports.

Tensions returned in later years. In 1988, the U.S. Navy sank several Iranian vessels during Operation Praying Mantis, and in January 2020 Iran launched missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S. strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

More recently, the strait has remained central to military planning because even limited disruptions can affect global fuel prices. The International Energy Agency and EIA have both described Hormuz as the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint because major exporters including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar rely on it.

What it means for shipping, fuel prices and U.S. consumers

For U.S. readers, the Strait of Hormuz matters less as a vacation destination than as a pressure point for gasoline, airline fuel and household costs. The EIA has said that crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments through Hormuz are so large that any sustained disruption could tighten global supply even if the United States imports less Gulf oil than it did 20 years ago.

What is confirmed is the scale of the route. The strait is only about 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, while the shipping lane in each direction is just 2 miles wide, separated by a 2-mile buffer, according to the EIA.

What is not known in any future crisis is how long a disruption would last or which cargoes would be delayed first. What is clear, based on repeated warnings from energy agencies and naval analysts, is that a narrow channel used for millions of barrels a day will remain a major strategic flashpoint as long as global trade depends on Gulf exports.