It is the test field of the current conflict. The blockade has already paralyzed fertilizer exports and stopped food imports into the region. Until recently, it was controlled by Iran, but now the United States has intervened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The Strait of Malacca<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-70.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIt is China\u2019s Achilles\u2019 heel. Up to 80% of Beijing\u2019s oil imports pass through it. Imagine if China were to one day take control of Malacca \u2014 or, conversely, if someone were to block it. Currently, the strait is controlled de jure by the coastal states of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The Suez Canal<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The main artery between Asia and Europe. In 2021, the closure of the canal by a container ship cost global trade $9.6 billion a day. Today, amid attacks by the Houthis, the volume of trade through the Suez has already fallen by 37%.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-72.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is entirely Egyptian property. However, France and England have historically had claims there. Israel, by the way, occupied the Sinai Peninsula, including part of the canal, during the Six-Day War in 1967, and navigation was interrupted for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The Strait of Gibraltar<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-73.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The “lifeline of the West”, it connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic. For Russia, it is a vital artery for oil supplies from the Baltic ports. On the European side are Spain and Gibraltar (a British Overseas Territory) and on the African side are Morocco and Ceuta (a Spanish autonomous city in North Africa).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The Bab el-Mandeb Strait<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-74-1024x460.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The southern gateway to the Red Sea, where the Houthis have controlled shipping for a year and a half. On the African side are Djibouti and Eritrea (which disputes control of the Doumeira Islands) and on the Asian side is Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The Panama Canal<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A vital artery for the United States. About 5% of world trade and 40% of US container traffic pass through it. Until 1999, the canal was under US control. Today, it is formally managed and controlled entirely by the Republic of Panama.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-75.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China, through a Hong Kong-based group, controlled ports on both sides of the strait until mid-winter this year. However, under US pressure, the group sold its assets to the American investment fund Black Rock, a deal that China has disputed. Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed control of the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits respectively<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-76.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are a major issue for Russia. A possible closure of the straits by Turkey (which controls them) would cut off the Black Sea Fleet and commercial shipping. For now, the Montreux Treaty favors Moscow, but for how long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Denmark Straits (Baltic Straits)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-77-1024x690.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the main gateway for Russian exports to Europe. Any restrictions here have a significant impact on Russian ports. These straits are typically under Danish control, but Britain also has interests there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, with the instigation of the United States\u2014not through an empty threat, but through its concrete actions\u2014the world is immediately transformed into a chessboard, where the pawns are tankers carrying oil and gas, and the queens are those who control the bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Control of international crossings a weapon of mass destruction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what is the conclusion? The US has not been able to force Iran to surrender. Iran cannot force the US to withdraw. The conflict is entering a stalemate that will last for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Denmark Straits (Baltic Straits)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
- The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits respectively<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
- The Panama Canal<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- The Bab el-Mandeb Strait<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
- The Strait of Gibraltar<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- The Suez Canal<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n