Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Aug 12, 2026 · 1151 words · By Amir Soltanzadeh

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What to know about Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives

Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives August 12, 2026 Months of blockades and uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed energy exporters to look for ways to bypass the key shipping lane.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Iranian officials had insisted the waterway would remain closed and negotiations would not resume unless the United States complied with a June framework agreement and offered compensation to Tehran for alleged violations.

Common ground

US President Donald Trump, however, said on Monday that the US Navy already controls the Strait of Hormuz.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Ships moving toward the Suez Canal must pass Bab al-Mandab?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-oil-shipping-pipelin…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4

verified Verified By Reference 4

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “Ships moving toward the Suez Canal must pass Bab al-Mandab”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “Before the conflict, however, roughly 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “A Basra-Oman connection could cost $10 billion to $15 billion”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 4: “During April and May, Saudi cargo shipments from its Gulf coast fell from 47.5 million tons a year earlier to just 6.3 million tons, according to data from the International Monetary Fund's Portwatch platform.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists only of dictionary definitions for the word 'according' and a general Wikipedia entry about the 2026 crisis. No specific IMF Portwatch data regarding the 47.5 million to 6.3 million ton drop was found in the evidence.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · Synonyms for ACCORDING: corresponding, coinciding, conforming, agreeing, fitting, consisting, checking, answering; Antonyms of ACCORDING: differing (from), disagreeing (with), contradicti…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/according

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 6 days ago · Accord is also a noun, meaning "agreement". Thus, we often hear of two countries signing a peace accord; and we also frequently hear of two things or people being "in accord with" each ot…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/according

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 5: “Before the Iran war, it [Strait of Hormuz] carried around 20% of global crude exports from the Persian Gulf to markets in Europe, Asia and North America.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including Britannica and a news report, confirm that more than 20% of global oil/gas exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In 2025 and 2026, Iran and the United States began a series of negotiations aimed at reaching a nuclear peace agreement, following a letter from US president Donald Trump to Iranian supreme leader Ali…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–2026_Iran–United_States_n…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Strait of Hormuz () is a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam Peninsula under the Musandam Governorate of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 6: “UAE Persian Gulf coast traffic during April and May fell to 12 million tons from 68.5 million tons in the same period of 2025, according to IMF PortWatch vessel-tracking data.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists only of dictionary definitions for the word 'according'. No IMF PortWatch data regarding the specific tonnage drop for UAE ports was provided.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Phrasal verb accord with something (Definition of according from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/accordin…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The term according to can be used to attribute something reported — according to the news, the airports are closed (even though according to your friend, they're still open). It also refers to agreeme…
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/according

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Claim 7: “The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen recently declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia”

CORROBORATED

Two independent news sources (EuroNews and France24) explicitly report that Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, staged a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi-led_intervention_in_the_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi prov…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi–Saudi_Arabian_conflict

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since January 2010 during the Houthi insurgency, the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia revivalist political and military organization, have maintained de facto governance over significant portions of northern and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi-controlled_Yemen

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain... do not have coastlines outside the Persian Gulf.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “During the fighting, the Emirati port of Fujairah came under attack and vessels operating near the UAE's eastern coast were also struck.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results report attacks on ships near the UAE coast and the Strait of Hormuz, specifically mentioning Fujairah's strategic role and incidents involving ships being seized or struck.

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web search NEUTRAL — Iran’s account was categorically different. The Khatam al-Anbiya central military command, which oversees Iran’s war operations, accused the United States of firing first by striking an Iranian oil ta…
https://insights.niacouncil.org/p/how-a-night-of-fire-in-the…

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web search NEUTRAL — A ship anchored off the UAE was seized and steered toward Iran, while a cargo vessel near Oman sank after an attack, authorities said Thursday, in a fresh escalation of tensions in the Strait of Hormu…
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/ship-seized-anothe…

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web search NEUTRAL — Security in that area is particularly sensitive, as Fujairah is the UAE's sole oil port on the far side of the strait, allowing some exports to reach markets without passing through it."Unauthorised p…
https://aapnews.aap.com.au/news/attacks-on-ship-near-strait-…

verified

Claim 10: “ADCOP carries crude from Habshan in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside Hormuz.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) transports crude from Habshan to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline, also known as "Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline", is an oil pipeline in the United Arab Emirates. It starts from the Habshan onshore field in Abu Dhabi and runs to Fujairah …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habshan–Fujairah_oil_pipeline

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web search NEUTRAL — The Abu Dhabi crude oil pipeline project, also known as the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, was initiated by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which is owned by the Abu Dhabi Governmen…
https://www.oilandgasadvancement.com/projects/abu-dhabi-crud…

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web search NEUTRAL — Crude oil pipeline. Location. Habshan to Fujairah, UAE.The crude oil is transported from Abu Dhabi’s main field to a crude reservoir in Fujairah. Thereafter, the oil is loaded onboard tankers outside …
https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/abu-dhabi-pipel…

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Claim 11: “Traffic through alternative UAE ports also declined, from 13.7 million tons to 6.3 million.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources (one appearing to be a news/analysis piece on Gulf alternatives and another from Morotainews) report the specific decline in alternative UAE port traffic from 13.7 million to 6.3 million tons.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Traffic through alternative UAE ports also declined, from 13.7 million tons to 6.3 million.
https://www.morotainews.com/magyar-p-ter-megsz-lalt-a-paksi-…

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web search NEUTRAL — 0.8 million and 2.7 million metric tons per year.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaz5803

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web search NEUTRAL — Traffic through alternative UAE ports also declined, from 13.7 million tons to 6.3 million. In other words, rather than picking up cargo diverted from the Persian Gulf, the alternative ports also saw …
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

help

Claim 12: “Mansour estimates that a Basra-Aqaba pipeline could require five to seven years and cost around $8 billion to $10 billion (€6.9 billion to €8.7 billion).”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the estimates provided by Hassan Mansour.

verified

Claim 13: “Over the same period, exports through the Red Sea rose from 29.6 million to 54.8 million tons.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence includes general information about the Red Sea crisis and Saudi revenues, but does not contain the specific tonnage figures (29.6 million to 54.8 million) mentioned in the claim.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Red Sea Global (RSG; Arabic: البحر الأحمر الدولية), previously The Red Sea Development Company, is a real estate development company based in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The company was founded in July 2017 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea_Global

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Red Sea International Airport (IATA: RSI, ICAO: OERS) is an international airport in Hanak, Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia serving the tourism megaproject in development The Red Sea Desti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea_International_Airport

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Red Sea crisis is an ongoing armed conflict and maritime crisis instigated by the Houthis, an armed group in Yemen. The Houthis began launching missiles and armed drones at Israel in response to t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea_crisis

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 14: “Saudi Arabia is sending its crude through the East-West Pipeline from the kingdom's eastern oil fields to the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia directly confirms the existence and function of the East-West Pipeline (Petroline), stating it runs from the Abqaiq oil field in the Eastern Province to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The East–West Pipeline, also known as the Petroline, is a 1,201-kilometre-long (746 mi) pipeline in Saudi Arabia that runs from the Abqaiq oil field in the Eastern Province (near Bahrain and Qatar on …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East–West_Crude_Oil_Pipeline

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saudi Arabia has a high-income developing economy highly reliant on its petroleum sector. Oil and gas account for approximately 22.3% of Saudi GDP and 55% of government revenue, with substantial fluct…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Saudi_Arabia

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Yanbu Commercial Port is among the ancient ports on the Red Sea. Its strategic importance comes from the fact that the port is a main gateway to the Muslim holy city of Medinah, as well as being a min…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanbu_Commercial_Port

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.