Iraq’s $24B Development Road gains momentum amid Gulf Hormuz crisis
Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade raises global oil market concerns as Trump admin meets with executives
Jonathan Hunt reports live from London that Iran’s aggressive actions in the Strait of Hormuz have led to a 95% reduction in commercial ship traffic. Gramercy Fund Management Head Mohamed El-Erian analyzes the deterioration in the global oil market with the rise in crude oil prices. The Trump administration is meeting with oil executives as international allies such as Japan and European countries issued a joint statement saying they are ready to ensure safe passage through the vital waterway.
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Analysts say the Strait of Hormuz crisis is driving countries’ efforts to develop alternative trade routes from the Gulf to Europe, with Iraq’s $24 billion “Path of Development” project at the forefront.
Middle East Council on Global Affairs analyst says route from Iraq’s Grand Faw Port to Türkiye and Europe is progressing “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.
Iranian forces have mined the narrow waterway and threatened commercial traffic. As of Sunday, the shipping route remains effectively closed.
UAE MINISTER SAID IRAN WAS ‘TRYING TO GIVE A HEART ATTACK TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY’ BY CLOSING THE STRAIT OF HORmuz
A man walks on the road during a sandstorm in Basra, Iraq, on March 4, 2022. (Hussein Faleh/AFP)
“Iraq’s Development Path means that every container passing through Basra, rather than through Iranian-controlled waters, means a reduction in Tehran’s 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.
AFTER THE IRAN CONFLICT, SHIPPING STARTED TO STOP IN THE STRAIT OF HORmuz
Cargo ships are anchored in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from north of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, on March 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo)
But Seloom says other regional infrastructures are also being advanced in parallel.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil pipeline is operating at close to its 7 million barrels per day capacity and expansion plans are also being reviewed.
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 dark fiber projects are also underway through Syria, Iraq and the Horn of Africa.”
Iran reimposed closure measures in the Strait of Hormuz on April 18, reducing traffic to just a handful of ships per day from a pre-war average of 130 to 140 ships.
Restrictions, including on ships, have come under fire in recent days and the interventions date back to the beginning of the war on February 28, when Tehran first moved to block transit following US-Israeli attacks.
IRAN WAR, IN 11 DAYS: US SKIES CONTROL OIL INCREASES AND THE REGION IS PREPARING FOR WHAT’S NEXT
Maps4Media’s processed and enhanced Sentinel-2 satellite images show a wide view of the Strait of Hormuz between southern Iran and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, including surrounding islands, coastal land, and turquoise shallow water areas at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. (Maps4media via Getty Images)
“Hormuz remains indispensable for energy, but it is no longer seen as a default. This change is permanent, given the war,” Seloom said. he said.
Seloom said it was “potentially transformative” for the Iraq corridor, with $4 billion in annual transit revenue and its repositioning from an oil-rental state to a logistics state.
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“Türkiye will be the country that will benefit the most from this. When combined with the Zangezur and Central Corridors, Ankara becomes a land bridge between Asia and Europe,” he said. “Europe will have an additional onshore option in the timeline beyond 2028, but will have no option for the current crisis. This marginally reduces structural dependence on the unreliable Suez-Red Sea axis.”
