International Journal of Political Science ISSN: 2228-6217 Vol 8, No 3 , Autumn 2018, (pp.71-78)

A survey of the Strategic Importance of the in the , with an Emphasis on 's Role in Maintaining its Security

Morteza Mahmoudi Lamooki 1, Shahla Seraji 2* 1Department of Political Science, Islamic Azad University, Kish International Branch, Kish, Iran 2Department of Political Science, Islamic Azad University, Kish International Branch, Kish, Iran

Received: 23 Feb 2018 ; Accepted: 20 Oct 2018

Abstract: The Middle East has always been of interest to other countries for its geopolitical posi- tion and its vast supply of oil and gas. Meanwhile, the issue of the transfer of oil by sea is of great importance. The Strait of Hormuz is perhaps one of the most important blue- water in the world due to the geographical location of the to the Free Seas. The world's superpowers, like the United States, spend billions of dollars annually on the transit of tanker ships from the area, and Iran, as the main owner of this sector can directly affect this vital strait. In this research, we are going to introduce the waterway from the political point of view and geographical location of the impact of Iran's role in maintaining the Strait.

Keywords: Strait of Hormuz, Geopolitical position, Security, Iran

Introduction of oil and gas to the Middle East countries to The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway all parts of the world is tied up the security of that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf many countries that are geographically dis- of , 35 percent of the total oil trans- tant thousands of kilometers away. Thus, ported by tankers and 20 percent of the glob- energy, security, and commercialization of al oil supply goes through this strait. This the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz Strait is one of the most vital maritime paths constitute the basic elements of Iran's foreign of transportation of goods and energy in the policy. Due to the 80% Iran’s exports and world, and therefore, it is geopolitically and imports volume, it is known as one of the strategically important. To secure the Strait most sensitive and strategic areas of the as a reliable waterway for the transportation country next to and Khuzestan. In *Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected]

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addition to economic importance, the Strait Geographical Features of Strait of Hormuz of Hormuz has special communications, mili- Strait of Hormuz is one of the most sensitive tary, and geopolitical advantages for the Is- and vital waterways of our time. It is an in- lamic Republic of Iran. Throughout history, ternational strait that is located between Iran the strait has been the link between South and and Oman, which has a special value for both Southeast with the of Iran, Me- countries and under the 1974 agreement be- sopotamia, the Mediterranean, and , tween Iran and Oman, responsibility for de- and has linked the centers of civilizations in fending this vital waterway and controlling these and has played an important the transit of ships is shared jointly by the role in the transferring and distribution of two governments. The Strait of Hormuz is commercial goods, as well as cultural and roughly 100 miles long and has cut off the social values. (Honarzadeh, 2004: 24) Many high mountains of towards the Western countries and, in particular, the peninsula of Musandam. In the past, every United States try to reduce the importance of country wanted to reach this area, tried to the Strait of Hormuz by proposing different maintain its dominance over the waterway. alternatives to Persian Gulf energy transport (Afshar Sistani, 1994: 4) This strait is a nar- and reducing their dependence on energy row waterway connecting the semi-closed supplies from this waterway in times of cri- Persian Gulf through the Gulf of Oman to the sis. Indeed, in doing so, it somehow calls for and international shipping lines them to limit Iran's dominance of this strateg- in the Free Seas. Moreover, this waterway ic region of the world as a superior geograph- with its special and strategic position is con- ical factor and as the country's winner card in sidered as the West's economic artery, and it a crisis. With the emphasis on maintaining is considered the Japan of Meddle east (Af- the security and stability of the global sys- shar Sistani, 1994: 3) The importance of the tem, every single event that occurs in any narrow strait that is wide between 38 and 43 corner of the world can have a widespread km (24-24 m) Is that the two sides of the land reflection. Considering this and the role of between Iran and Oman, each with 12 nauti- Iran in recent development in the region and cal miles (19 km), are aligned along the same the international system, development in Iran, line, and in this region "Free Sea" does not both at the domestic and international levels, exist. It should be noted that the boundary are always pursued with great sensitivity and between the territorial waters of Iran and care from the great powers and other gov- Oman along the fair line is based on the ernments, and concerns about the probability agreement between the two countries in of occurrence of any crisis will cause insecur- 1974. (Toloui, 1998: 65) It is a crescent- ity in large maritime paths and, in particular, shaped strait with a length of 178 km and the the need to pay attention to the security of the smallest width of it from the Indian head- key points such as the Strait of Hormuz will stone peak located in the northeast of Omani provide them with immediate response. This until the mouth of Gas (Iran) is about 55 km suggests that the world is always interested in and its usual width is 78 km, from Bandar the stability and security of Iran and supports Abbas to Surat peak, north of Oman. Its any attempt to achieve this goal. depth is variable due to the steep slope of the

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Strait from north to south, near southern corridor of the Iranian plateau and it is near 36 meters and on the southern coast the - route is one of the near Musandam Island, Oman is 180 to 200 most important ways of transporting to the meters deep. The deepest point of it is a pit Iranian Plateau. (Jafari Valadani, 1997) with the depth of 223m, 45km from Musan- dam Island. Also, the entry of the Strait of Geostrategic Importance Hormuz has two ridges called the "Daba" The Strait of Hormuz has a special geostra- peak in the east of the United Arab , tegic importance that brings it into both land and the other is the "Al-kuh" cape on the Ira- and sea strategy because the Strait of Hormuz nian coast (west of Island). It should be complements both of these strategies. Strait noted that the Iranian triple islands (Abu Mu- of Hormuz connects Bandar Abbas and Per- sa and Tunbs) are located at the entrance of sian Gulf with Kerman, and Iran's Pla- the Strait and have a very good geopolitical teau. (Honarzadeh, 2004: 2) The geostrategic position. aspects of the strait have increased its geopo- litical importance and placed the Strait of The Geopolitical Importance of the Strait Hormuz in the center of the global and re- of Hormuz gional powers' rivalry and competition. In For Iran, the security of the Strait of Hormuz such a way, any power that controls and go- is of particular importance because Iran, verns the Strait and the islands around it, is beyond its strong army, can use its strategic able to change the regional and global bal- ports along this waterway, as well as its isl- ance of power in its favor and force its politi- ands, which have a good place in the Strait of cal will on the international and regional Hormuz, to properly secure the Strait. At the scene. The Strait of Hormuz also has a spe- mouth of the Persian Gulf, Iran has a number cial economic status, which is discussed be- of strategic islands, among which there are low: the most important strategic positions in Iran, namely Hormoz, Larak, Qeshm, Hengam, 1. Transportation Importance Greater Tunb , and The Strait of Hormuz has long been a transit . They form the first Iranian de- point for residents and exports of the Gulf fense arc. This line of defense is important region to the Gulf of Oman and vice versa for protecting the Strait of Hormuz and inter- and all major powers have paid great atten- national shipping, and it will be an indication tion to this particular importance. Today, the of the impact of the fire of Iranian weapons role of the Strait of Hormuz remains one of in the area. (Nuri, 2009: 274) Iran's second the main factors behind the establishment of line of defense in the Persian Gulf is on the its geopolitical identity. The geographical bases of , Bandar Abbas and Chaba- location of the Strait of Hormuz is responsi- har. Apart from the fact that the bases are a ble for transporting Iran's Plateau to the East backbone for the protection of the islands in and West of the Strait of Hormuz. And if the the Strait of Hormuz, the islands also serve as agreement between Iran and Turkmenistan on attacking and defensive bases. These islands the connection of the railway and the Sa- Safeguarding means protecting Bandar Ab- rakhs' communications networks to Bandar bas and protecting Bandar Abbas means pro- Abbas is carried out, will also tecting Iran's security. Bandar Abbas is the connect the world's transportation network.

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And as a result, the importance of the Strait Given the importance of the geopolitics of of Hormuz will be doubled. the region, it can be argued that the Strait of Hormuz will also play its role in the future. 2. Economic Importance: Because in the event of any blockage in the The Strait of Hormuz joins the global econ- Strait due to the decline in oil supply and the omy to the Persian Gulf region`s economy in impossibility of economic ties, crisis will terms of providing maritime transport facili- climb to its highest peak. ties and the communication between the Gulf Western countries and the US are miles family and the global family. And in the light away to this point, but because of their high of this link, the common need of the coun- interests, they are always present in the re- tries of the Persian Gulf region to this Strait gion and they are trying to apply their views is evident. Regarding the regional economy, in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, the regional countries are also dependent on and this has an essential role in the escalation the export of goods and oil, as well as on the of the crisis and instability in the region. import of Food and welfare goods, and indus- trial and sanitary and weapons, to the Strait 3. Strategic Importance of Hormuz, the U.S. Energy Information In brief, the reasons for the Iranian naval Administration (EIA) recently said in a report power in the Strait of Hormuz and the pres- that since January to October 2011, about 70 ence of foreigners in the region due to the million tons of natural gas has been diverted advantages of the Strait of Hormuz are as through the Strait of Hormuz to world mar- follows: kets. The research has shown that the largest  Being in the course of transportation growth in global gas reserves has been in the of oil required by the West. two regions of the former Soviet Union and  The defense of the in the Persian Gulf region and the Middle  Being at the beginning of the Iranian East. After , the Islamic Republic of Plateau atrium. Iran, , the and  Being in an appropriate position for , respectively, have the second, entering army in Arabian Peninsula. third, fourth and fifth largest gas reserves in  Being in the position fortaking the the world. The gas reserves of this area in- crisis to the clude the northern Qatar gas fields and the  Establish continuity for the Navy. South Pars field of Iran (Judat, 2001: 166). In  Establishing facilities and providing the global economy, Western industrialized weapons and logistics. countries are dependent to the Strait of Hor-  Geographical and legal ties of the muznot only to import their oil from the Per- Strait for crossing the maritime and sian Gulf region, but also to export their aeronautical visa units. manufactured goods to the rich sale markets  Being used as supplementary to the of the Persian Gulf region on the free trade- Marine Strategy (Honarzadeh, 2004: industrial zones such as , Jebel Ali, 24) Kish, and Qeshm (Hafez Nia, 1992: 469)

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The Importance of the Strait of Hormuz is essentially important to maintain the con- from the Viewpoint of Western Countries nection with the operational units with their After the First World War and with the dis- bases. Because interrupting connection covery of oil, the greed of foreign powers means facing a threat of siege and failure and increased in the Persian Gulf. The United surrender. The base of operating units in the States and its allies are the most important Persian Gulf is located in the Indian and Pa- imperial powers that play in the region. The cific Ocean, and their connection with the United States, as well as other international seventh fleet and Diego Garcia's strategic powers, sought to exploit the Persian Gulf base in the Indian Ocean is through the Strait facilities, and in particular its "oil" (Sadeqi, of Hormuz. To cut off this connection, the 2001: 116) an area that is both geopolitically easiest way and the most appropriate place is and geo-economically important. From the the Strait of Hormuz (Mehrabi, 1998: 264). point of view of the US policy making sys- Achieving these goals requires a military tem, the country's interests, including the se- presence near the site. As a result, the Persian curity of moderate Arab countries and the Gulf waters are of particular importance to free flow of oil from the region, are threat- naval powers, and since the Strait of Hormuz ened by various sources. Hence, the United is the only way to transfer navy units from States will continue its military presence in the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf, the the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Persian geographical features and legal ties of the Gulf, and the Indian Ocean (Sadeqi, 2001: Strait of Hormuz are relevant for the move- 128) ment of aircraft carriers and nuclear subma- An energy expert, says, “if Tehran, closes rines. In the past few years, naval forces have the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in reaction to invaded the Persian Gulf through the Strait of the Western oil sanctions, there will be no Hormuz two times, at one time, as the alternative to compensate it for the West”. war intensified against Iran, about 70 to 80 “The use of longer alternative ways to trans- battle ships from six countries came to the port oil will increase transportation costs and area under the pretext of security and follow- cause oil to reach international markets, in ing Kuwaiti demand for escorting oil tankers. the long run, and to a lesser extent" said Peter (Hafez Nia, 1992: 438) Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst in the Baltic and the International Maritime Council, to 2. Oil Artery Dow Jones. Below some of the reasons of the The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most im- importance of the Strait of Hormuz for the portant crude oil artery, next to the Malacca West are briefly mentioned: Strait, the Suez Canal, Bab Al Mandab, the Straits of (Bosphorus and Darda- 1. Strait as the only Seaway of the West to nelles), Panama and Denmark. Nevertheless, the Persian Gulf the Strait of Hormuz alone with a daily trans- The strategic goals of the United States and fer of 17 up to 19 million barrels of oil is un- the West are numerous in the Persian Gulf, doubtedly the worldgoldenoil pipeline. and most importantly, the protection of oil (www.mehr.news.com) In the past, most of resources and shipping lanes and the main- the Persian Gulf oil exports crossed the Strait tenance of the security of the GCC states, of Hormuz, which has been declining due to which are American advocates. In the wars, it the increasing use of pipelines for oil exports,

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at some previous time, most of the Persian Bab al-Mandab Strait Gulf oil exports crossed the Strait of Hormuz, After going through Strait of Hormuz, tank- which has been declining due to the increas- ers will pass Muscat, an if their destination is ing use of pipelines for oil exports. But with Europe or the United States they must move the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz, through Masirah Island, Ras al-Hadd, the Ras exporting oil is much more economic than al-Farang, and reach the Gulf of Aden. Bab the pipelines. Because of the high depen- al- Mandab is located between on the dence of Western industrialized countries on Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti in , the Persian Gulf oil Industry, the current and and is the interface between the Gulf of Aden future security of the Strait and the safe tran- and the Red Sea. sit of oil tankers is a priority for the naval powers. (Mehrabi, 1998: 264) 1) Suez Canal The ship carrying the oil should pass through Projected Plans to Reduce the Importance the Suez Canal after passing through Bab al- of the Strait of Hormuz Mandab. The Suez Canal is an important and Oil exporting countries and Western coun- strategic waterway. The Suez Canal is a tries have introduced and implemented plans shortcut for ships departing from Europe to to influence the Strait of Hormuz and to re- Asia and vice versa, the length of the water- duce the strategic importance of the Strait, as way is nearly 120 miles (193 km). And if the follows: canal is closed, the ships have to travel a 6,000 mile (1600 km) maritime path around A. Change in oil and gas transportation the African . patterns in the Persian Gulf (http://www.tehranrefinery.ir) The idea of multiplying the export routes of oil from the Persian Gulf to various parts of 2) Oil Pipes the world was due to the threat posed by the a. Petro line: An oil pipeline West Industrial countries and the Persian The lines were dug in Dhahran, east of Saudi Gulf oil exporters to the Strait of Hormuz, Arabia, in 1200 km to the port of Yanbu, because before the creation of new ports, al- west of Saudi Arabia in, along with the Red most all of the Persian Gulf’s oil was trans- Sea in 1980. And can pump oil and gas daily ported through the Strait of Hormuz. by 2 million barrels per day (in the event of an emergency up to 5 million barrels per B. Changing maritime path for transport- day). Iraq can also use these pipelines by ing Persian Gulf’s oil adding lines. Given the political, economic, and strategic importance of maritime path for transporting b. Abandoned Trance Tube oil and the security of cargo shipment, it is The Trans-Arabian Pipeline has a 65-year vital for exporting and importing countries. history of exploitation and is one of the old- Therefore, we will briefly examine the most est pipelines in the Middle East. As the pipe- important maritime paths below: line has a capacity of 300 to 500 thousand barrels per day. This pipeline connects the A-

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International Journal of Political Science, Vol 8, No 3 , Autumn 2018 juaimeh port in the Persian Gulf and eastern pipeline can never be trusted in times of Saudi Arabia after crossing Jordan and emergency in Turkey, because in recent years into . However, in 1990, Saudi Ara- the oil pipeline has been repeatedly attacked bia cut off its oil export from this pipeline by terrorists and stopped exporting oil from because of Jordanian cooperation and sup- northern Iraq to Turkey. porting Iraq in the First Gulf War. In the cur- rent situation, this oil pipeline has been aban- e. Iraqi pipeline from Syria to Banias port doned and inactive, however, this pipeline with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day. should be considered as one of the routes of f. Four pipelines have been drawn from black gold transfer to the Khark and Abadan to Tehran, Astara and region. That is, the Saudi- pipeline is , where a gas pipeline extends from currently the only Saudi Arabian active and Tabriz to Bazargan and Turkey. (Rahbar, working international pipeline consisting of 2009: 105) four old pipelines of 60 years old that transfer Every day, about 15 to 17 million barrels of Abu-sfara and Dammam fields light oil to crude oil will flow to the global markets Bahrain with the capacity of 200 to 250 thou- through the Strait of Hormuz. "At best, the sand barrels a day. (www.mehr.news.com) largest amount of oil that could actually be transported through international oil pipelines c. Sumed pipeline could be 4.5 to 5 million barrels," said the US These lines are drawn parallel to the Suez Energy Security Advisor, Paul Domjan, from Canal and connect the Red Sea to the Medi- the opposing organizations to the US oil de- terranean. pendence. "Even so, it's estimated that global markets will need 13 million barrels of crude d. 4-pipeline of Kirkuk in Iraq to Ceyhan oil per day. He added "Accidentally, the only port in Turkey with a capacity of 800 oil exporting country that has the best posi- thousand barrels per day: tion to bypass the Strait of Hormuz is Iran, The transfer of Iraqi oil to Turkey is carried which its oil pipelines can be used to transfer out with two parallel pipelines of 986 and oil to the in the north, and from 890 kilometers. These pipelines extend from there using other options to transfer it to the Kirkuk in northern Iraq to the Yumurtalik in global markets. the Ceyhan province of southern Turkey. The (http://anti666.ir/forum/index.php) first pipeline was launched in 1976, and in Another point to note is that the southern 1977 the first loading of the tanker ships took Gulf countries export part of their oil prod- place. The Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline ucts through these pipelines from places oth- contract was extended in 2010 after negotia- er than the Persian Gulf. While Iran supplies tions between the two sides for another 15 100 percent of its oil to the Persian Gulf and years (http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news) hence, to the Strait of Hormuz. Thus, the Iraq The pipeline for exporting Iraqi oil to war against Iran and the battle of the Persian Turkey, which exports a quarter of Iraq's oil, Gulf showed that how the Persian Gulf, as a has been repeatedly attacked by terrorists; the semi-closed sea, could be fragile in opposing pipeline has a daily capacity of 1.6 million hostile situation in the region. Consequently, barrels of oil, and routinely transfers 400,000 an attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz will barrels of oil a day. Nevertheless, Iraq's oil lead to the closure of Bandar Abbas and other

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Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf. And in this to have a safer port, in the event of the clo- state of affairs the country will be justified by sure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will have to extreme situations. (Toloui, 1998: 65) create a commercial harbor in the Indian Ocean, in addition to providing more security Conclusion for foreign trade, and also have the ability to Iran is the largest and most powerful country develop a possible future. And, simultaneous- in the Persian Gulf region, with the largest ly, could provide a safe access to the transat- geographical range and security positions in lantic needs of northern and northeastern the area. The Strait of Hormuz, which is lo- countries which do not access the free seas. cated in this area, is indeed, the gateway of The connection of the railway and the road Iran to the world and the region, so Strait of with this port is possible due to the networks Hormuz is one of the most important deter- available in and the rent factors in the invasion of its borders. A neighboring provinces at the lowest cost. Of strain that the 90 percent of the Persian Gulf course, it should be remembered that having oil export (40 percent of the world's maritime an independent oil policy means reducing the oil trade) as well as the natural gas exports of country's dependence on oil exports from the the Persian Gulf depends on it. However, Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The with the intensification of the West's eco- construction of a pipeline capable of deliver- nomic struggle against the Iranian oil indus- ing oil to the Indian Ocean (Oman Sea), as try, the possibility of closing the Strait of well as the construction of related terminals, Hormuz and bypassing this international wa- is a matter of urgency for national interests. terway in the formal and informal circles of To reduce national vulnerabilities, it is no the world has been strengthened, but certain- other way than to liberate the country’s ex- ly all scenarios in Western countries to justify ports (goods and oil) from the relying on the the bypassing the Strait of Hormuz in critical Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Oth- situations will not be technical and economi- erwise, the occasional threat of closure of the cal. The alternative maritime path for trans- Strait of Hormuz will not be taken serious by porting oil will be challenging and limited in anyone. terms of, inefficient, expensive and logistical- ly limited capacity, which will increase the References cost of black gold transfer. Also, in the Per- Behjat, A, (2001), "Oil Security in the New sian Gulf, tankers pass through routes that are Millennium, Geo-Communism ver- very close to Iranian soil, islands under the sus Geo-Strategy", Translated by: control of Iran's navy bases.This high sensi- Qadir Nasri Meshkini, the Political- tivity and threats of Iran to obstruct the Strait Economic Information Monthly, of Hormuz in the event of any military strike 165-166 against Iran, is now one of the concerns of Fathers, Ali, (2004), "Analysis of Bandar advanced industrial countries to ensure the Abbas-Haji Abad and its Defensive security of energy exports. That is, a point to Abilities", Imam Hossein University note is that Iran 100 percent depends on oil Hafez Nia, Mohammad Reza, (1992), "The exports from the Strait of Hormuz. Therefore, Persian Gulf and the Strategic Role

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