Iran’s Strait of Hormuz policy exempts Iraq amid regional energy geopolitics and US sanctions pressure

Indigenous and traditional knowledge systems in the Gulf region emphasize the Strait of Hormuz as a lifeline for coastal communities, with oral histories documenting centuries of trade, migration, and ecological stewardship. These perspectives highlight the Strait’s role in sustaining cultural practices, such as pearl diving and date farming, which are threatened by militarization and sanctions. However, mainstream narratives rarely center these voices, instead framing the Strait as a strategic asset for state actors.

The Strait of Hormuz has been a flashpoint for over a millennium, from Sassanian and Umayyad naval conflicts to the 1951 British-Iranian oil nationalization crisis. The 1980s Iran-Iraq War saw tanker warfare in the Strait, foreshadowing today’s sanctions-driven oil smuggling routes. The exemption for Iraq reflects a historical pattern of Iran using Iraq as a sanctions-evasion corridor, dating back to the 1990s ‘oil-for-food’ program and continuing through modern ‘ghost fleet’ tankers.

In the Gulf, trade routes are often seen as communal lifelines rather than state-controlled assets, with merchant families (like the Al Sabah in Kuwait or the Al Jaber in the UAE) acting as informal brokers across sectarian and national divides. Iranian bazaaris and Iraqi souk vendors share cultural practices of barter and trust-based transactions, which persist despite state-imposed restrictions. The exemption for Iraq aligns with these cross-cultural trade networks, where loyalty to kin and community often supersedes state decrees.

The Strait of Hormuz handles ~20% of global oil trade, with 17 million barrels passing daily, making it the world’s most critical chokepoint. Tanker traffic increases under sanctions, raising collision risks and oil spill probabilities, as seen in the 2019 attacks on Saudi tankers. Environmental studies show that even minor spills could devastate mangroves and coral reefs in the Strait, yet these risks are rarely quantified in geopolitical analyses.

Persian miniatures and Iraqi calligraphy often depict the Strait of Hormuz as a site of divine blessing, with ships symbolizing prosperity and divine favor. Sufi poets like Rumi and Hafez wrote of the sea as a metaphor for spiritual journey, reflecting the Strait’s role in both physical and metaphysical journeys. Contemporary Gulf artists, such as Bahraini sculptor Ahmed Al Safi, use maritime themes to critique state violence and sanctions, framing the Strait as a site of both oppression and resistance.

Under current trends, increased tanker traffic through the Strait could lead to a 30% rise in oil spill risks by 2030, with potential ecological collapse in the Persian Gulf. Sanctions-evasion networks may expand, creating a ‘shadow oil market’ that bypasses Western financial systems but deepens regional inequality. Alternative scenarios include a US-Iran détente reducing Strait tensions or a regional energy transition that diminishes the Strait’s strategic importance.

Sanctions disproportionately harm Iranian women, who bear the brunt of healthcare shortages and economic collapse, while Iraqi Kurds in Kirkuk face displacement from oil infrastructure expansion. Migrant workers from South Asia, employed in Gulf tanker fleets, are often invisible in geopolitical narratives but face hazardous conditions due to sanctions-driven ship rerouting. Indigenous Ahwazi Arabs in Iran’s Khuzestan province, whose lands host oil fields, are silenced by state repression when protesting environmental degradation from increased drilling.