Strait of Hormuz must be returned to the world ‘exactly as it was’, says UAE minister

Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of Adnoc, said 50 days of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz have blocked nearly 600 million barrels of oil, putting increasing pressure on global supplies of LNG, jet fuel, fertiliser and other essential commodities.

In a post on social media platform X, he warned that the impact is being felt worldwide, with rising costs ultimately passed on to ordinary people. Al Jaber stressed that the global economy cannot withstand prolonged uncertainty and said the Strait must not operate under threat.

He also criticised any form of payment for safe passage, calling it a “protection racket”, and emphasised that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to the world and must remain open and accessible as before.

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His remarks build on earlier warnings he has made about the strategic waterway. On April 9, Al Jaber said the Strait of Hormuz “is not owned by a single country,” condemning what he described as efforts to restrict and “weaponise” access to it.

In a LinkedIn post, he said the Strait must remain open “fully, unconditionally and without restriction,” adding that global energy security and economic stability depend on it.

Earlier, on March 23, speaking at the CERAWeek global energy conference in Texas, he went further, describing the “weaponising” of the Strait of Hormuz as “an act of economic terrorism,” warning that no country should be allowed to hold the waterway hostage.

He warned that when the Strait of Hormuz is threatened, its human cost is exponential, and its consequences reach factories, farms and families around the world.

While the Strait is not owned by a single country, it is bordered by Iran on the north coast and Oman and the UAE on the south coast. Since February 28, the start of the war, Iran has claimed control of the passage, threatening and attacking “hostile ships” passing through it.