Turkey should consider alternative transit routes should Iran decide to close the vital Strait of Hormuz, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu warned after the Iranian parliament approved the closure of the strategic passage between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula in retaliation for the US attack on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz – which at its narrowest point is only 33 kilometres wide – serves as the main transit route to the rest of the world for ships loaded with oil and gas from Gulf countries – the world’s largest hydrocarbon-producing region – including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait: some 18 million barrels of oil per day pass through its waters, equivalent to approximately 20% of the world’s oil.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas warned on Monday that a closure of this vital sea route would be ‘very dangerous’, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Beijing to intervene with Iran to prevent the closure of Ormuz, given that such a move would cut off the flow of crude that is vital to China’s economy: “I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to talk (with Iran) about that, because they (the Chinese) are hugely dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio said on Fox TV.
“In the face of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we must be provided with both land and sea (alternative) routes,” the Turkish transport minister was quoted as saying by local media on Sunday in an appearance before a group of journalists. “That is why we are taking the necessary steps regarding the Middle Corridor and the Development Road Corridor.
‘We are the only NATO country that connects these countries to Europe.’
The so-called Middle Corridor, officially called the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is a transport route connecting China to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and finally Turkey, created as an alternative to the so-called Northern Corridor through Russia or the sea route through the Suez Canal. The so-called Development Road is an initiative that connects the Gulf countries with Europe via railways, roads, ports and cities, from the port of Al-Faw in southern Iraq – at the northern tip of Hormuz – to the Turkish border.
“We are the only NATO country through which this 21-nation route to Europe goes through. We must diversify alternatives such as the Middle Corridor or the Development Road,” said Uraloğlu. Regarding the consequences of the current conflict between Iran and Israel, the minister reported that 11 Turkish planes are still stranded in the region, “7 in Iran and 4 in Iraq”, unable to fly back to the country due to the closure of airspace: “They are 7 planes operated by Pegasus, 2 by Turkish Airlines, 1 by Ajet and 1 by Tailwind”, explained Uraloğlu, who assured that the foreign ministry and the intelligence services are closely monitoring the situation.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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