The Strategic Message of Hormuz

Iran has traditionally relied more heavily on land-based economic and defense strategies than on the geopolitical potential of its long coastline and the Strait of Hormuz. Recent events raise two questions: why did Iran close the strait, and what should happen next?

The closure should be understood as a temporary wartime and deterrent measure—not a permanent policy. Iran’s long-term position is that Hormuz should remain open in peacetime. But safe passage and free trade cannot be defined one-sidedly: if global connection is essential for all, Iran cannot be excluded from the same rights through sanctions, blockade or military threat.