the cheapest form of oil transportation and also reduces insurance costs as oil tankers would no longer enter the Persian Gulf. In a July 2012 Foreign Policy article, Gal Luft compared Iran and the Strait of Hormuz to the Ottoman Empire and the Dardanelles, a choke point for shipments of Russian grain a century ago. He indicated that tensions involving the Strait of Hormuz are leading those currently dependent on shipments from the Persian Gulf to find alternative shipping capabilities. He stated that Saudi Arabia was considering building new pipelines to Oman and Yemen, and that Iraq might revive the disused Iraq–Syria pipeline to ship crude to the Mediterranean. Luft stated that reducing Hormuz traffic "presents the West with a new opportunity to augment its current Iran containment strategy." See also Abu Musa island Bandar Lengeh Hormozgān Province Kingdom of Hormuz Musandam Peninsula Hormuz Peace Initiative References Sources Mohammed Kookherdi (1997) Kookherd, an Islamic civil at Mehran river, third edition: Dubai [Atlas Gitashenasi Ostanhai Iran] (Gitashenasi Province Atlas of Iran) Further reading Bodies of water of Iran Bodies of water of Oman Bodies of water of the United Arab Emirates Borders of Iran Borders of Oman Borders of the United Arab Emirates Gulf of Oman Landforms of Hormozgan Province Hormuz Bodies of water of the Persian Gulf Hormuz Hormuz Hormuz