Old Trick: Empires have been fighting over the Strait of Hormuz for centuries

American leaders recognized the risks posed by Iran’s proximity to the sea lane long before President Trump expressed frustration that a regime he calls “almost defeated” is still able to wage global economic warfare there.

Marco Polo wrote about daring sailors he saw there

Ever since the days of ancient Persia, world powers have sought one after the other, including the Greeks, the Ottomans and the Portuguese, to control the Straits. It was one of the richest places on earth because spices, silk and gems from India passed through its waters, destined for trading centers such as Baghdad, and eventually reaching Europe. Zheng He – a 15th century Chinese navigator – visited the Strait, and Marco Polo wrote about the daring seafarers he saw there.

In the more recent past, Hormuz and the Persian Gulf constituted a Rubicon for American presidents, and at times defined their foreign policy and preferences regarding the use of military force. Decades before he held political office, Trump himself publicly called on America to show “backbone” when it comes to ensuring security in the Gulf.

Analysts say Iran is forcing a confrontation between countries over Emirati energy prices, with the aim of pressuring Trump to reduce the war. Hormuz is the only shipping channel that links some of the world’s largest energy reserves to global demand, and Iran surrounds its northern part.

Shortly after it was attacked on February 28, Iran began launching missiles and drones at oil tankers, cargo ships and ports to deter ships from sailing towards the strait. This is an ancient strategy.

“Long before the tankers arrived, Hormuz was already important for a deep structural reason – the same reason for which it is still important today. It is a narrow sea gate between resources, wealth and the wider world,” historian Bianca Novillo recently told listeners of her podcast “History Without Censorship”.

The Portuguese and Ottomans fought for control of Hormuz, and in the 19th century European traders called the area the “Pirate Coast”, because of raids by pirates coming from the southern end of the strait, today’s United Arab Emirates.

The source of the region’s recent strategic importance lies in the 1930s, when major oil discoveries in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain ignited new geopolitical interest around the region. For decades, the US took a secondary role in securing the Gulf. At first the British handled it, and then the Shah of Iran, who was friendly to Washington, guarded the area.

Everything changed with Iran’s Islamic Revolution that started in 1979. Months before Iranians took American diplomats hostage and US-Iranian relations deteriorated rapidly, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pointed to another risk inherent in the Islamic Revolution, in a report called “Egypt of Hormuz: A Vulnerable Lifeline.”

The CIA report, now declassified, noted a variety of potential threats to crude oil shipments through the strait, from sea mines to sabotage by tiny wooden vessels known as ‘dows’. “Imaginative and resourceful terrorists who are considering an attack on ships in the Straits have many options,” the intelligence agency said.

President Jimmy Carter used his State of the Nation Address in 1980 to express a new proactive American stance toward the region, centered on the Strait. “An attempt by any outside power to take control of the Persian Gulf region would be considered an attack on the vital interests of the United States,” Carter said.

The most similar case today: “The Tanker War”

Every US president since has confronted Iran over concerns about shipping in the Gulf, but Ronald Reagan faced the most similar case to the present-day Hormuz closure during what was called the “Tanker War” in the late 1980s. Iran and Iraq, sworn enemies, both attacked oil infrastructure and the president arranged a naval escort to protect shipments.

Around the same time, Hormuz caught the attention of Donald Trump, then a 41-year-old real estate developer. In 1987, he published an open letter through full-page newspaper ads, arguing that the United States needed to show “spine.” Trump wrote then, as some of the arguments he has put forward in recent days echo, that allies such as Japan and Saudi Arabia should bear the costs of protecting oil shipments through the Persian Gulf. In those days Trump called this area “an area of ​​only marginal importance for the supply of oil to the US”.