Though US, Israeli, and European diplomatic efforts have focused for years on limiting Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz has lately become the center of gravity of the on-again, off-again war between the US and Iran.

Early in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, Tehran closed the strait, choking off about a fifth of global oil supplies. The move has driven up energy prices around the world, including in the United States.

With midterm elections approaching and fearing that voters will abandon Trump’s Republican party at the ballot box if prices for fuel and other goods remain high, the US president has made Hormuz a priority, trying to pry it open with diplomacy, threats and periodic military strikes.

For Iran, which has proven itself able to withstand all three while keeping the strait bottled up, Hormuz appears to be the perfect lever, letting it put pressure on Trump to extract valuable concessions and possibly turning the waterway into a regime-sustaining revenue stream.

That is certainly the case in the short term, but Iran’s total domination of Hormuz has also triggered a process that will sap the maritime passage of its importance to world trade, turning it from an asset for the regime into a liability.

Recognizing the need for alternative routes that don’t run the risk of being blocked by Iran, the region’s oil and gas producers that depend on the Strait of Hormuz are already hard at work developing infrastructure that will allow them to bypass the chokepoint.

The result might not only deprive Iran of the ability to shackle global energy supplies, but could also help transform oil-poor Israel into an important player in one of the world’s most important markets.

Though most Middle Eastern oil and gas heads eastward to Asia, Gulf countries are focusing on first moving oil westward and away from Iran.

And they are moving fast.

According to a Goldman Sachs analysis, more than 45 percent of Persian Gulf oil exports will be insulated from threats to the Strait of Hormuz by the end of next year. That number is expected to rise above 60% by the end of 2028.

The United Arab Emirates is at the center of that effort.

A close Israeli ally that was hit by Iran more than any other country during the 2026 war, the UAE was one of the top producers in OPEC before it exited the oil cartel in May, saying it wanted to increase exports.

To get all of that oil to world markets, Abu Dhabi said in May that it would accelerate construction of a new oil pipeline to double its export capacity through Fujairah by 2027.

Unlike its other ports, Fujairah sits entirely on the Gulf of Oman, not the Persian Gulf, and ships traveling to and from its ports don’t need to enter the Strait of Hormuz at all.

The new conduit will expand the capacity of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, which can carry up to 1.8 million barrels per day from its inland Habshan oil field to Fujairah.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has also announced a bid process for a liquefied natural gas facility in Fujairah.

“Abu Dhabi is........

© The Times of Israel