This Saturday, delegations from the United States and Iran are slated to head to Pakistan to try to negotiate a lasting end to the war between them. Among the bones of contention will be the Strait of Hormuz: the crucial waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied gas normally passes. Iran’s closure of the strait since the conflict began has sent a massive shockwave through the global economy, driving up key commodity prices and risking global stagflation.
Conflicts over strategic and commercial waterways—especially straits and canals—are nothing new. Back in 1507, the Portuguese decided to set up a fortress to control the Strait of Hormuz. It taxed commerce for a century before Persia and Britain joined forces to evict them. Today, Iran is attempting to claim the toll-keeper role that Portugal once played, demanding that any permanent peace deal recognize its right to impose fees on ships passing through the strait. The theocratic tyranny that has ruled in Tehran for 47 years wants to determine who can trade through one of the world’s great choke points—and what they must pay for the privilege.
