UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Iran offers to reopen Hormuz if U.S. lifts blockade

Q1. The inbound and outbound tanker shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz, separated from each other by a buffer zone of equal width, are each about how many miles wide?

  • A. About 2 miles (3 km) each
  • B. About 12 miles (22 km) each
  • C. About 24 miles (44 km) each
  • D. About 35 miles (55 km) each

Q2. Consider the following statements comparing the Strait of Hormuz with its neighbouring landmass and with another maritime chokepoint: 1. The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran on the north from Oman's Musandam exclave on the Arabian Peninsula on the south, and ranges from about 35 to 60 miles (55 to 95 km) in width. 2. While the Musandam Peninsula projects from the Arabian Peninsula, the tanker shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz lie mostly within Iranian territorial waters. 3. The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, whereas the Bab el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Strait of Hormuz separates Iran on the north from Oman's Musandam exclave on the Arabian Peninsula on the south, and ranges from about 35 to 60 miles (55 to 95 km) in width.
  2. While the Musandam Peninsula projects from the Arabian Peninsula, the tanker shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz lie mostly within Iranian territorial waters.
  3. The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, whereas the Bab el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. The estimate that roughly 10 million barrels per day — about 10 per cent of global supply — had been taken offline in the Persian Gulf region by mid-March 2026 because of the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure was made by which one of the following?

  • A. The OPEC Secretariat, Vienna
  • B. The International Maritime Organization, London
  • C. The International Energy Agency, Paris
  • D. The International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi

Q4. With reference to the infrastructure that allows Gulf hydrocarbon exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, consider the following: 1. Saudi Arabia's East-West (Petroline) crude pipeline runs roughly 1,200 km from the eastern oil fields to Yanbu on the Red Sea and has a capacity of about 7 million barrels per day. 2. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline carries crude from Habshan to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman and can handle up to 1.8 million barrels per day. 3. Qatar's liquefied natural gas exports can be routed to the Gulf of Oman through a dedicated bypass pipeline, sparing them the need to transit the Strait of Hormuz. 4. ADNOC's West-East pipeline expansion to Fujairah is expected to be completed by 2027 and will roughly double the UAE's land-based export capacity to about 3.6 million barrels a day. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Saudi Arabia's East-West (Petroline) crude pipeline runs roughly 1,200 km from the eastern oil fields to Yanbu on the Red Sea and has a capacity of about 7 million barrels per day.
  2. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline carries crude from Habshan to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman and can handle up to 1.8 million barrels per day.
  3. Qatar's liquefied natural gas exports can be routed to the Gulf of Oman through a dedicated bypass pipeline, sparing them the need to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
  4. ADNOC's West-East pipeline expansion to Fujairah is expected to be completed by 2027 and will roughly double the UAE's land-based export capacity to about 3.6 million barrels a day.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q5. With reference to India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme, consider the following: 1. The Phase I strategic reserves are located at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur, with a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes of crude oil. 2. The Phase I strategic reserves by themselves are adequate to meet the entire crude oil requirement of the country for about three months. 3. The two additional commercial-cum-strategic facilities approved in July 2021, at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, are to be developed on public-private partnership mode. 4. Because the reserves are strategic, the crude stored in them is meant exclusively for Indian government use, and no overseas national oil company may store crude in these caverns. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The Phase I strategic reserves are located at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur, with a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes of crude oil.
  2. The Phase I strategic reserves by themselves are adequate to meet the entire crude oil requirement of the country for about three months.
  3. The two additional commercial-cum-strategic facilities approved in July 2021, at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, are to be developed on public-private partnership mode.
  4. Because the reserves are strategic, the crude stored in them is meant exclusively for Indian government use, and no overseas national oil company may store crude in these caverns.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q6. In official statements on India's oil security, the figure of '74 days' denotes which one of the following?

  • A. The crude oil requirement that ISPRL's Phase I strategic reserve caverns alone are able to meet
  • B. The combined cover of ISPRL's strategic crude reserves and the oil marketing companies' crude and product storage
  • C. The period for which India's foreign exchange reserves can finance its crude oil import bill
  • D. The minimum emergency stockholding obligation cast on Indian refiners as a condition of IEA membership

Q7. Iran's September 2026 phased offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade and a waiver of oil sanctions was set out by the holder of which one of the following offices?

  • A. President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
  • B. Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran
  • C. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran
  • D. Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran

Q8. Under the phased proposal Iran conveyed in New York in September 2026, how was the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to be operationalised?

  • A. The strait would reopen at once, with the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade and the release of frozen funds following in a second phase
  • B. The strait would reopen on the last day of a seven-day sequence, with talks on other issues including the nuclear file beginning only afterwards
  • C. The strait would reopen only after a comprehensive nuclear agreement had been concluded and verified by international inspectors
  • D. The strait would reopen in stages over seven months, each stage matched to a tranche of Iran's frozen funds being released

Q9. The Security Council draft resolution of 7 April 2026 seeking to safeguard international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — which failed on a double veto — was tabled under whose sponsorship?

  • A. France, Germany and the United Kingdom, acting together as the E3
  • B. The United States, with Israel as principal co-sponsor
  • C. Oman and the United Arab Emirates, as the two littoral States of the strait's shipping lanes
  • D. Bahrain, on behalf of a group of Gulf States including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and the UAE

Q10. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the primary navigational regime applicable in straits used for international navigation, which the bordering States 'shall not hamper', is:

  • A. Innocent passage, governed by Part II of the Convention
  • B. Transit passage, governed by Part III of the Convention
  • C. Archipelagic sea lanes passage, governed by Part IV of the Convention
  • D. Freedom of navigation on the high seas, governed by Part VII of the Convention

Q11. In the context of the Iran nuclear issue, the 'snapback' mechanism means which one of the following?

  • A. A provision permitting Iran to restore its enriched uranium stockpile to pre-agreement levels should any participant withdraw from the accord
  • B. An IAEA procedure for restoring inspector access to declared facilities where monitoring has been suspended by the host State
  • C. A procedure under Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) by which terminated UN sanctions on Iran revive unless the Council votes to continue sanctions relief
  • D. A clause allowing the E3 to reinstate their bilateral trade preferences with Iran once the IAEA certifies full compliance with the accord

Q12. Chabahar is officially described as the flagship India-Iran project. Which one of the following correctly identifies the terminal India contracted in May 2024 to equip and operate for ten years, and the parties to that long-term main contract?

  • A. Shahid Kalantari oil terminal; contract between India Ports Global Limited and the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran
  • B. Shahid Beheshti general cargo and container terminal; contract between India Ports Global Limited and the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran
  • C. Shahid Beheshti general cargo and container terminal; contract between the Indian Ports Association and Iran's National Development Fund
  • D. Shahid Kalantari general cargo terminal; contract between the Indian Ports Association and the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran