The Islands That Give Iran a Stranglehold on the Strait

Wall Street Journal: “Iran’s fortifications on small islands near the Strait of Hormuz boost its power to control the key waterway, and reopening shipping there might require U.S. or allied forces to capture some of those same dots of land.”

“The importance of the islands such as Kharg, Qeshm and Abu Musa is increasingly coming into view as Iran causes an economic crisis by blocking most oil tankers from transiting the strait. The waterway carried about 20% of the world’s traded crude oil before the war; traffic has slowed to a trickle since the U.S.-Israeli air war on Iran began on Feb. 28.”