What strait connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is a key oil shipping route?

The strait connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and carrying major oil traffic is the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway lies between Iran to the north and Oman's Musandam Peninsula to the south, with a small portion of the southwestern peninsula belonging to the United Arab Emirates. It provides the only maritime passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it one of the world's most important strategic chokepoints.

Tankers carrying crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas pass through the strait on routes serving markets in Asia and beyond. Because so much energy traffic is concentrated in this narrow passage, political tensions or military incidents there can affect global shipping and energy prices.

The Strait of Hormuz is sometimes confused with the Bab-el-Mandeb, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, or the Strait of Malacca, a major route between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Its defining geographic connection is the Persian Gulf–Gulf of Oman passage.