Does Iran Have the Capability to Block the Strait of Hormuz - Essay Example

A detailed study of the Iranian navy has figured out that the total number of active sailors in the Iranian navy is close to eighteen thousand, along with that there are almost twenty thousand working staffs associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN). By using this large manpower, Iran could achieve temporary closure of the strait. The Iranian navy has bases all along the coastline of their country, together with a large naval air station and operative headquarters at Bandar Abbas situated on the north of the strait.  The IRGCN has a military outpost on the islands close to the straits such as Abu Musa, Larak, and Sirri.To protect all these straits along with establishing their stronghold over all these areas, Iran has also positioned pre-surveyed missile and air defense sites with satellite imagery of the southern coast of Larak, facing the strait. In addition, Iran’s continuous effort to establish their rights over the islands of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, situated in between the channels in the west will help them drastically if they ever push any effort to close the strait.  So after analyzing all the above points, one can easily mention that Iran can afford to achieve a momentary closure of the strait. This temporary closure of any such strait has a greater impact on the world politics and economy not only in terms of oil trading but at the same time if there are any kinds of military approach is implemented to reopen it.  Although, there is a different set of argument posed by other schools of thought that even if Iran should accomplish a blockade on the strait it would be partly due to the fact that it would invite intervention from the international powerhouses like the UK, USA, Germany, and other top powerhouses, by using their technological power and military strength can easily resolve the situation within a shorter span of time as it was witnessed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.

Although all the above-mentioned points are true, it is also significant to consider the fact that as   Iran has a large number of sea mines under its control so one cannot overlook its power of enforcing provisional closure of the strait.