1. Is Iran Fighting on the basis of
Strait of Hormunz ?

2. Strait of Hormuz
• The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically
important strait between the Gulf of Oman in the
southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast
is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab
Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.
• The strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres wide. It
is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large
areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf and
is one of the world's most strategically
important choke points.

3. Strait
• A strait or straits is a
narrow, typically navigable channel of
water that connects two larger, navigable
bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a
channel of water that lies between two land
masses, but it may also refer to a navigable
channel through a body of water that is
otherwise not navigable

6. Traffic on the route
• On an average, about 14 tankers carrying 17
million barrels (2,700,000 m3) of crude oil
passed out of the Persian Gulf through the
Strait. This represents 35% of the world's
seaborne oil shipments, and 20% of oil traded
worldwide.
• More than 85 percent of these crude oil exports
went to Asian markets, with
Japan, India, South Korea, and China
representing the largest destinations.

7. Defense Policy of Iran
• On 29 June 2008, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary
Guard, Ali Mohammed Jafari, said that if Iran were attacked
by Israel or the United States, it would seal off the Strait of
Hormuz, to wreak havoc in oil markets.
• This statement followed other more ambiguous threats from
Iran's oil minister and other government officials that a
Western attack on Iran would result in turmoil in oil supply.
• In response, Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander of
the U.S. 5th Fleet stationed in Bahrain across the Persian
Gulf from Iran, warned that such an action by Iran would be
considered an act of war, and that the U.S. would not allow
Iran to effectively hold hostage nearly a third of the world's
oil supply.

8. Business Features

9. Iranian Oil Importers

10. %age of Iran’s Exports

11. Date wise Important Events

12. 27 December 2011
• Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza
Rahimi threatened to cut off oil supply from
the Strait of Hormuz should economic
sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian oil exports.
• A U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman said in
response that the Fleet was "always ready to
counter malevolent actions", whilst Admiral
Habibollah Sayari of the Iranian navy claimed
that cutting off oil shipments would be "easy".

13. 3 January 2012
• Iran threatened to take action if the U.S. Navy moves
an aircraft carrier back into the Persian Gulf.
• Iranian Army chief Ataollah Salehi said the United
States had moved an aircraft carrier out of the Gulf
because of Iran's naval exercises, and Iran would take
action if the ship returned.
• His statement was "Iran will not repeat its warning...the
enemy's carrier has been moved to the Gulf of
Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize
to the American carrier not to return to the Persian
Gulf".

14. • The U.S. Navy spokesman Commander Bill
Speaks quickly responded that deployment of
U.S. military assets would continue as has
been the custom stating: "The U.S. Navy
operates under international maritime
conventions to maintain a constant state of
high vigilance in order to ensure the
continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in
waterways critical to global commerce."

15. • While earlier statements from Iran had little
effect on global oil markets, coupled with the
new sanctions, these concise comments from
Iran are driving crude futures higher, up over
4%. Pressure on prices reflect a combination of
uncertainty driven further by China’s recent
response – reducing oil January 2012
purchases from Iran by 50% compared to those
made in 2011.

16. • The U.S. led sanctions may be “beginning to
bite” as Iranian currency has recently lost
some 12% of its value. Further pressure on
Iranian currency was added by French Foreign
Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday calling for
"stricter sanctions" and urged EU countries to
follow the US in freezing Iranian central bank
assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.

17. 7 January, 2012
• The United Kingdom announced that it would be
sending the Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring to the
Persian Gulf. Daring, which is the lead ship of her
class is claimed to be one of the "most advanced
warships" in the world, and will undertake its first
mission in the Persian Gulf.
• The British Government however have said that
this move has been long-planned, as Daring will
replace another Armilla patrol frigate.

18. On 9 January 2012,
• Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi denied
that Iran had ever claimed that it would close
the Strait of Hormuz, saying that "the Islamic
Republic of Iran is the most important provider
of security in the strait...if one threatens the
security of the Persian Gulf, then all are
threatened."

19. 16 January, 2012
• The Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it has
received a letter from the United States
concerning the Strait of Hormuz, “via three
different channels.”
• The US had previously announced its intention to
warn Iran that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a
“red line” that would provoke an American
response. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said this past weekend
that the United States would “take action and
reopen the strait,” which could be accomplished
only by military means, including
minesweepers, warship escorts and potentially
airstrikes.

20. • By 23 January, a flotilla had been established by
countries opposing Iran's threats to close the
Hormuz Strait. These ships operated in the
Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea off the coast off
Iran. The flotilla included two American aircraft
carriers (the USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham
Lincoln), three destroyers (USS Momsen, USS
Sterett, USS Halsey) and seven British warships
including the destroyer Daring and a number
of Type 23 frigates

21. 24 January, 2012
• Tensions rose further after the European
Union imposed sanctions on Iranian oil. A senior
member of Iran's parliament said that the Islamic
Republic would close the entry point to the Gulf if
new sanctions block its oil exports.
• "If any disruption happens regarding the sale of
Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be
closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of
parliament's foreign affairs and national security
committee.

22. • Battle is still going on…….. Only on the basis
of Strait of Hormunz