Mike Pompeo thanks the Emirates and six other countries for protecting the Strait of Ormuz

On Wednesday, outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, Albania, Lithuania and Australia for protecting the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes.

The Ormuz Strait is situated between Oman and Iran, its narrowest point being only 33 kilometres away. The route connects the sea passage of the Gulf countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE) with the Arabian Sea. Despite its narrowness, it is deep enough to allow oil tankers to pass through.

Shipping in Ormuz has recently witnessed threats from Tehran through attacks on cargo ships and oil tankers. In early January, Iran announced the arrest of the South Korean tanker Hankook Chimi, which was carrying 7,200 tons of oil chemicals.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard reported that in addition to taking control of the South Korean ship it arrested its 20 crew members, of whom five were South Koreans, two Indonesians, two Vietnamese and 11 Burmese, on charges of "contaminating the Gulf with chemicals". Since then the oil tanker has been detained in the town of Bandar Abas.

In response, Seoul sent a destroyer that was near Omani waters to, according to the Asian nation's authorities, "guarantee the security" of its citizens, though they ruled out carrying out a military operation.

Behind this episode is Tehran's discontentment at the freezing of funds in South Korean banks to the tune of $7 billion as a result of the sanctions imposed by the United States.   

"The regime continues to threaten navigational rights and freedoms in the Persian Gulf as part of a clear attempt to extort the international community to ease the pressure of sanctions," said a U.S. State Department representative, after demanding the release of the ship and its crew.

The Ormuz Strait is a key point for the crude oil trade because it is a transit point for 20% of global oil exports. For this reason, Iran is using its privileged position in Ormuz to prevent freedom of international navigation and to assert its claims on other issues.

In July 2019 an episode similar to that of the South Korean ship occurred when the Revolutionary Guard boarded the Swedish vessel Stena Impero, flying the British flag, in Omani waters, forcing it to divert towards Iranian waters. On that occasion they accused the ship of carrying out dangerous manoeuvres and, like the South Korean ship, of causing environmental damage.

The arrest was seen by most analysts as a response from Tehran to the UK over the boarding of the oil tanker Grace 1 by the British navy near Gibraltar. The Rock authorities justified the measure by blaming the Iranian vessel for transporting fuel to a Syrian port that was subject to sanctions.

On Wednesday morning, the Iranian media confirmed that the army was planning naval manoeuvres with short-range missiles. According to national television, the exercises would take place in the Gulf of Oman and would involve the warship Makran, the largest Iranian warship, which has a platform for helicopters, and the armoured ship Zara.

Both Iran's rivals in the region and the Western countries are concerned about the military threat that Iranian missiles pose to regional stability, and fear that these vessels would be capable of carrying nuclear weapons if Teheran were finally able to develop them.

The sanctions imposed by the United States following the country's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement signed by the previous administration have worsened the already deteriorated relationship between Washington and Teheran.

The latest were announced on Wednesday by the Treasury Department, just one day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being "the new home base" of the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation.

According to the statement of the country's Treasury Department, the Office of Foreign Assets Control has taken measures against two organisations and their respective leaders, as well as their subsidiaries, which are directly controlled by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The sanctioned entities allow the "Iranian elite to maintain a corrupt ownership system over much of the economy," said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

The sanctions involve freezing the assets and property of those affected on US soil and prohibiting US citizens and companies from doing business with such individuals and organisations.

"Anyone involved in transactions with the sanctioned individuals or entities risks becoming the next target of similar measures taken by Washington," Mnuchin warned.