Strait of Hormuz - here's what I don't understand

[FakeNoose]

Iran holds all the cards because they control the north shore of the Hormuz Strait.

But United Arab Republic could have dug a canal over 50 years ago, and it would be shorter and less expensive than the Suez Canal in Egypt. But it would have put UAR in the catbird seat, controlling all the shipping in and out of the Persian Gulf.

Why didn't they do that when they had the chance? Why didn't the US help build such a canal and become partners with UAR? It seems like an obvious solution.

[msongs]

1. maybe there are crazy high mountains in the way?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. There is no way to do this due to the mountains

Last edited Fri May 29, 2026, 07:26 AM - Edit history (1)

[msongs]

2. or Iran sinks a few ships in the canal....

[House of Roberts]

4. Looks to me like it's still in drone range of Iran.

So yes that's highly likely.

[Boo1]

3. Because until 2 months ago

You could just sail through the Stait of Hormuz without any problems. Why would you spend billions to solve a problem that didn't exist. If you were shipping, why would you pay to use a canal that saves little or no time when you could sail through the strait for free?

[WSHazel]

5. Trump is blockading Strait of Hormuz

He is trying to spike oil prices for his fossil fuel buddies. Iran doesn’t want it blocked.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

6. If the name Hormuz has some theological significance, they may be too superstitious to go hacking things up.

Ahura-Mazda for example. Can also be rendered as, Acura-Mazda, lol!

[Melon]

7. The terrain is difficult. 50 years ago there were Bedouins living in tents and villages 1000's of years old.

The Middle East 50 years ago doesn’t look like today. I worked in Oman when a major pipeline projects was being planned from Saudi to the Arabian Sea due to the same problem….Iran threatening shipping.
In 15 years they made almost zero progress. The pipelines are billions of dollars. When oil hits $100 a barrel, money flows like water. When oil crashes below $60, all of the countries run deficits due to their domestic subsidies and all projects cancelled. It was a cycle. Iran is quiet for a few years, so it becomes less urgent.

[Frasier Balzov]

8. A shortcut canal?

I wonder about the cost of engineering, constructing, operating and maintaining a shortcut canal versus the tolls the world might be willing to pay.

During peacetime, the incentive would likely be to save the toll and enjoy free international passage through the Strait.

(By comparison, the Suez Canal is eminently worth paying a toll to use because of the truly vast geography it allows you to bypass.)

Plus a shortcut canal controlled by the UAE wouldn't necessarily provide a safe alternative to evade a pissed off Iran.

Iran will fire on ships anywhere in the zone it can accurately target, extorting protection money and menacing ships flagged to nations it regards as hostile.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. They have tried and the efforts have failed

Link to tweet

[FakeNoose]

11. OK thanks - this explains why it never happened

Geography is against it, and you can't fool Mother Nature. It's not political, Iran has nothing to do with this.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

12. People have tried several times and this is not possible

[JCMach1]

13. The Hajar mountains

What they could build they did. A pipeline across

The Iranians bombed the oil depot at least twice .