Oman’s territorial waters on the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz is also rendered impassable due to Iranian threats. Since Oman is not a party to this conflict, are they just okay with Iran declaring the entire strait closed and threatening to shell ships passing even through Omani territorial waters?
There’s been endless complaining on the world stage from the United States about the strait being closed, but I haven’t seen anything from Omani officials yet.
As I recall, the part of the strait that large tankers can actually use is very narrow. As a result, the tankers have to navigate the strait slowly and they are easy to intercept.
On top of that, Iran has several islands in perfect position to be used as naval bases. So, they can go out and put patrol boats (smaller, so not limited in where they can navigate, and well armed) in the way of ships, and threaten to sink them if they disobey orders to go no further.
As to why Oman doesn’t object, I can only assume that Oman doesn’t have enough naval power of its own to put up a serious fight against Iran. So, when the Iranians come and threaten tankers, whether it’s in international waters or Omani waters, Oman probably can’t do much about it.