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Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternative

With the Strait of Hormuz disrupted by the US-Iran war and Iranian closure threats, Gulf states are scrambling for alternative routes. Saudi Arabia has redirected shipments via its East-West Pipeline, while experts warn that new pipelines cannot solve immediate problems and some countries remain fully dependent on Hormuz.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 12–19, 2026 Published 5d ago

Disruption and response

Months of blockades and uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed energy exporters to look for ways to bypass the key shipping lane. Iranian officials 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. US President Donald Trump, however, said on Monday that the US Navy already controls the Strait of Hormuz, adding, "We've mine swept the entire strait."

The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman is one of the world's most critical oil shipping routes. Before the Iran war, it carried around 20% of global crude exports from the Persian Gulf to markets in Europe, Asia and North America. Roughly 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait daily before the conflict.

Saudi Arabia shows what is possible

The US-Iran war has placed greater importance on alternative shipping lanes through the Red Sea. 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, enabling it to keep up shipments to global markets by circumventing Hormuz entirely.

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. Over the same period, exports through the Red Sea rose from 29.6 million to 54.8 million tons. That additional 25.3 million tons replaced roughly 61% of the volume lost on the Persian Gulf side. The shift shows that the East-West Pipeline is not merely an emergency backup, but also an important tool to keep Saudi oil flowing during a Hormuz closure.

Mixed success for the UAE and others

The United Arab Emirates has had less success, despite possessing ports and pipelines specifically designed for that purpose. The UAE's ADCOP pipeline carries crude from Habshan to Fujairah, but Fujairah was attacked during the fighting and traffic through alternative ports also declined from 13.7 million to 6.3 million tons.

Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, but its impact was not immediately clear. The blockade could complicate Red Sea routes, which have become more important as Gulf states seek alternatives.

Expert views on long-term solutions

Economist Hassan Mansour suggested new pipelines (Basra-Aqaba, Basra-Oman) and Cape of Good Hope routes, but said these projects cannot solve immediate problems. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued for alternative routes including pipelines through the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli Mediterranean ports.

Tehran-based analyst Rahman Ghahremanpour noted that Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain lack coastlines outside the Persian Gulf and remain dependent on Hormuz. Ghahremanpour also warned that keeping Hormuz closed too long could form a wider coalition against Tehran.

Trump's view on pipelines

President Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz would become far less important than before because of pipeline construction. Speaking about oil prices, Trump said that despite the US war with Iran, oil is at $84 to $85 a barrel today, in part because large volumes of oil are moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

"People have found other alternatives which they never thought about - Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, and other places [where energy resources are produced]. In addition, a lot of pipelines, record numbers of pipelines are being built, so I think the Hormuz Strait is not going to be quite as important as it was in the past," the US leader told reporters at the White House.

How each outlet told it

Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC

Framing: Emphasizes Gulf states' scramble to find alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, focusing on logistics and infrastructure challenges. — Analytical and measured, using data and expert quotes without alarmism.

Facts Included:

Iranian officials insisted the waterway would remain closed and negotiations would not resume unless the US complied with a June framework agreement and offered compensation for alleged violations.
Trump said on Monday that the US Navy already controls the Strait of Hormuz and 'We've mine swept the entire strait.'
Before the Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz carried around 20% of global crude exports.
Saudi Arabia diverted crude via the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, with Gulf coast shipments falling from 47.5 million tons to 6.3 million tons in April-May, and Red Sea exports rising from 29.6 million to 54.8 million tons.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, but impact was not immediately clear.
UAE's ADCOP pipeline carries crude from Habshan to Fujairah, but Fujairah was attacked during fighting and traffic through alternative ports also declined from 13.7 million to 6.3 million tons.
Economist Hassan Mansour suggested new pipelines (Basra-Aqaba, Basra-Oman) and Cape of Good Hope routes, but said these projects cannot solve immediate problems.
Netanyahu argued for alternative routes including pipelines through the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli Mediterranean ports.
Tehran-based analyst Rahman Ghahremanpour noted that Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain lack coastlines outside the Persian Gulf and remain dependent on Hormuz.
Before the conflict, roughly 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait daily.
Ghahremanpour warned that keeping Hormuz closed too long could form a wider coalition against Tehran.

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TASS — English as of Aug 19, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC

Framing: Highlights Trump's claim that pipelines will reduce the Hormuz Strait's importance, focusing on his statement. — Direct and factual, reporting Trump's remarks without analysis or embellishment.

Facts Included:

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would become far less important than before because of pipeline construction.
Trump said oil is at $84 to $85 a barrel today, in part because large volumes are moving through the Strait.
Trump cited alternatives: Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, and other places where energy resources are produced.
Trump said 'record numbers of pipelines are being built' and that the Hormuz Strait 'is not going to be quite as important as it was in the past.'

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimIranian officials insisted the Strait of Hormuz 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.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimTrump said on Monday that the US Navy already controls the Strait of Hormuz and "We've mine swept the entire strait."	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimBefore the Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz carried around 20% of global crude exports.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimDuring April and May, Saudi cargo shipments from its Gulf coast fell from 47.5 million tons to 6.3 million tons, and exports through the Red Sea rose from 29.6 million to 54.8 million tons.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimThe Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, but its impact was not immediately clear.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimUAE's ADCOP pipeline carries crude from Habshan to Fujairah, but Fujairah was attacked during the fighting and traffic through alternative ports also declined from 13.7 million to 6.3 million tons.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimEconomist Hassan Mansour suggested new pipelines (Basra-Aqaba, Basra-Oman) and Cape of Good Hope routes, but said these projects cannot solve immediate problems.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued for alternative routes including pipelines through the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli Mediterranean ports.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimTehran-based analyst Rahman Ghahremanpour noted that Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain lack coastlines outside the Persian Gulf and remain dependent on Hormuz.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimBefore the conflict, roughly 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimGhahremanpour warned that keeping Hormuz closed too long could form a wider coalition against Tehran.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Aug 12, 2026, 2:16 PM UTC
ClaimTrump said that pipelines and production in Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, and other places would make Hormuz less important.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Aug 19, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC
ClaimTrump said oil is at $84 to $85 a barrel today, in part because large volumes of oil are moving through the Strait of Hormuz.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Aug 19, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC
ClaimTrump said 'record numbers of pipelines are being built' and that the Hormuz Strait 'is not going to be quite as important as it was in the past.'	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Aug 19, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: Deutsche Welle, TASS — English 14 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-19