Both Iraq and Pakistan have cut deals with Iran to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the Gulf.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has slashed energy exports from a region that normally supplies 20% of the ‌world's crude oil and LNG. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports in recent weeks. And though Iran initially sought to halt traffic through the strait, that stance is now changing, said Claudio Steuer of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

"Iran has shifted from blocking Hormuz to controlling access to it ... Hormuz is no longer a neutral transit route, it is a controlled corridor," he said.