Alternative Oil Routes Weaken Iran’s Hormuz Leverage, Belgian Expert Says

Oil flows through alternative routes have weakened Iran’s ability to use the Strait of Hormuz as a negotiating tool, according to Belgian international affairs expert Enrique Serbeto.

The Brussels-based expert said the position of the US administration under President Donald Trump toward Iran’s use of the strait as leverage remained unclear.

His assessment concerned Iran’s recent introduction of the Hormuz issue among its negotiating tools, putting the strategic waterway at the centre of a debate over its bargaining power.

Serbeto’s argument points to a distinction between Iran’s efforts to exert pressure through Hormuz and the strength of that leverage as oil continues to move along other routes. He did not describe a clear US response to the Iranian approach.