The question
What countries border the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran on the north shore; Oman (its Musandam peninsula exclave) on the south; the United Arab Emirates borders the southern approaches and surrounds the Omani exclave. The two shipping lanes pass through Omani and Iranian territorial waters.
Three countries, two lanes.
Iran holds the entire north shore of the strait, from where the Persian Gulf narrows to the Gulf of Oman. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy operates bases along that coast and on three islands inside the strait itself: Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, whose sovereignty has been disputed since Iran seized them in 1971.
Oman’s Musandam peninsula forms the south shore. Musandam is a non-contiguous exclave: it is separated from the rest of Oman by roughly 70 kilometres of UAE territory, making it one of the few exclaves in the Arabian Peninsula. The main shipping lanes of the Traffic Separation Scheme pass through Omani territorial waters on the southward side.
The United Arab Emirates does not directly front the strait but borders the southern approaches and physically surrounds the Musandam exclave on its landward side. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the two largest UAE commercial centres, depend heavily on the strait for their import traffic. The UAE’s own answer to a prolonged closure is the ADCOP pipeline, which runs from Habshan to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the chokepoint for crude exports.
The Traffic Separation Scheme divides transit into two lanes, each roughly 2 nautical miles wide, with an inbound lane, a separation zone, and an outbound lane. Both lanes run through a combination of Iranian and Omani territorial waters. There is no route through international waters: any commercial vessel transiting the strait is necessarily passing through the territorial sea of at least one of the two shoreline states.
The practical consequence is that Iran, as the north-shore power, controls the geographic chokepoint. Its formal closure declaration of early March 2026, following the airstrikes of 28 February 2026, was an exercise of that position. The live transit count against the ~94/day pre-crisis baseline is tracked on the homepage.
Frequently asked.
FAQWhat countries border the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran borders the strait on the north; Oman's Musandam peninsula borders it on the south. The United Arab Emirates flanks the southern approaches. The shipping lanes run through both Iranian and Omani territorial waters, with no route through international waters.
Which side of the strait does Iran control?
Iran holds the entire north shore. Its IRGC naval bases sit on that coastline and on islands in the strait, including Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. The south lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme passes through Omani waters, but Iran's geographic and military position means it can threaten both lanes.
How wide is the Strait of Hormuz?
The strait is 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point. The Traffic Separation Scheme allocates roughly 2 nautical miles for inbound traffic and 2 nautical miles for outbound, separated by a median zone, all passing through Iranian and Omani territorial waters.
Cite this page
The Strait of Hormuz is bordered by Iran on the north and Oman's Musandam peninsula on the south, with the United Arab Emirates flanking the southern approaches. The shipping lanes run through Iranian and Omani territorial waters, as documented by straits.live. Source: https://straits.live/what-countries-border-the-strait-of-hormuz
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