Hormuz crisis spurs $24B Iraq trade corridor as Gulf routes shift
Strait of Hormuz crisis Analysts say that Iraq’s $24 billion “Road to Development” project is at the forefront, directing the efforts of countries to develop alternative trade routes from the Gulf to Europe.
Route from Grand Faw Port, Iraq Türkiye Middle East Council Global Affairs analyst says moving towards Europe “with discipline” Muhanad Seloom He described it to Fox News Digital as a “permanent” and “transformative” wartime change.
Seloom’s comments came as President Donald Trump warned Tehran of further escalation of tensions in the Gulf and signaled that the United States was ready to take action to keep the strait open.
There are Iranian forces He planted mines and made commercial threats traffic on the narrow waterway. As of Sunday, the shipping route remains effectively closed.
“Iraq’s Development Path means that every container passes through Basra. There is a decrease in the waters under Iran’s control “Tehran has influence over Iraq,” Seloom said.
“The actual scale, independent estimates put the Development Pathway close to $24 billion, and the project is now progressing with discipline,” he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani inaugurated the first 63-kilometer section of the Development Road in 2025. Phase 1 is planned to be completed by 2028.
“What was defined by the Iraqi government as the flagship of Iraqi statecraft now has a territorial logic that governments and financiers view as a foundation rather than an aspirational goal,” said Seloom, an assistant professor at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies.
“Sudani appears to be positioning Iraq exactly where its geography has always suggested it: as the nexus between the Gulf, Türkiye and Europe,” he said.
Watch shipping in the Strait of Hormuz come to a halt amid conflict in Iran
But Seloom says other regional infrastructures are also being advanced in parallel.
Saudi ArabiaThe East-West Oil pipeline is operating at close to its capacity of 7 million barrels per day, and expansion plans are also being examined.
He said the UAE’s ADCOP pipeline to Fujairah was also at maximum use and a second line was being discussed. “Türkiye’s Zangezur and Central Corridors bypass Iran via the Caucasus and reach them four to five years later.”
He added: “Six Gulf-supported terrestrial fiber projects are also ongoing SyriaIraq and the Horn of Africa.”
Iranian reimposed lockdown measures The passage to the Strait of Hormuz on 18 April reduced traffic to only a handful of ships per day, compared to a pre-war average of 130 to 140.
