00:00The narrow Strait of Hormuz, despite being a waterway, is starting to become a literal geopolitical landmine.
00:08A fifth of the world's oil flows here.
00:11For Washington, any disruption means higher petrol prices and food inflation.
00:15A nightmare for the upcoming midterms.
00:18And for Iran, the waterway is their ultimate leverage.
00:22Tehran has vowed not to allow even a single liter of oil reach its enemies.
00:27And in response, the U.S. says it has destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels.
00:34But hey, we've been here already, so who's up for a history lesson?
00:39Mines are the poor man's weapon of naval warfare.
00:42They are dangerously cheap, and basic contact mines can cost as little as a few thousand dollars.
00:49Yet, they can disable a billion-dollar warship or a supertanker just in seconds.
00:54And during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, specifically the tanker war, Iran filled the same waters with mines to halt
01:04Iraqi exports.
01:05And in 1988, after a U.S. frigate was nearly sunk by an Iranian mine, the Ronald Reagan administration responded
01:13firmly, launching Operation Praying Mantis.
01:17Historians say that in a single day, the U.S. Navy dealt a devastating blow to Iranians' operational fleet.
01:24The message was clear. Mess with the oil, and you will lose your navy.
01:28Because of disruptions in the Straits, Iraq, which relies on oil for 90% of its revenue, is now desperately
01:37exploring alternative routes through Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
01:41And for Europe, this crisis proves that swapping Russian oil for Gulf crude meant simply trading one dependency for another.
01:49So maybe it would signal a revival of decentralized green energy.
01:54After all, if the climate argument becomes too polarizing, it could be now about military and energy sovereignty.
02:01Nations' recovery
02:04On implemented A eco-hine
02:06Password
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