UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — New Hormuz route agreed, to be managed jointly with Oman: Iran
Q1. The traffic separation scheme under which laden tankers use segregated inbound and outbound lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, originally proposed jointly by Iran and Oman in 1968, was adopted by which one of the following bodies?
- A. The International Hydrographic Organization, the inter-governmental body for nautical charting standards
- B. The UN Conference on Trade and Development, acting through its Committee on Shipping
- C. The International Maritime Organization, the UN specialised agency for shipping safety
- D. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the judicial body seated at Hamburg
Q2. At its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz is approximately how many nautical miles wide, a dimension that causes the territorial seas of the two opposite littoral states to overlap?
- A. About 12 nautical miles
- B. About 21 nautical miles
- C. About 35 nautical miles
- D. About 55 nautical miles
Q3. In May 2026 Iran announced a new dedicated body, subordinated to its highest security authority, as the lead agency to regulate and administer vessel transit operations through the Strait of Hormuz. Which one of the following is that body?
- A. The Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, the civil regulator of Iranian ports and coastal shipping
- B. The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, the state-owned national container and cargo carrier
- C. The National Iranian Tanker Company, the state operator of Iran's crude-carrying tanker fleet
- D. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority
Q4. With reference to the Iran-Oman understanding on a jointly managed transit route through the Strait of Hormuz reported in August 2026, consider the following:
1. Vessels entering the Persian Gulf are to use a channel controlled by Iran, running close to the Iranian coast.
2. Vessels leaving the Persian Gulf are to use a channel controlled by Oman, running near the Omani coast.
3. Revenue from the proposed service fee is to accrue entirely to Oman, since the established shipping lanes lie mostly within Omani territorial waters.
4. Iran has accepted Oman's proposal for regional joint management of the strait involving the Gulf littoral states collectively.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Vessels entering the Persian Gulf are to use a channel controlled by Iran, running close to the Iranian coast.
- Vessels leaving the Persian Gulf are to use a channel controlled by Oman, running near the Omani coast.
- Revenue from the proposed service fee is to accrue entirely to Oman, since the established shipping lanes lie mostly within Omani territorial waters.
- Iran has accepted Oman's proposal for regional joint management of the strait involving the Gulf littoral states collectively.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2, 3 and 4
Q5. Consider the following statements comparing the 2026 US-Israel military campaign against Iran with the Israel-Iran conflict of June 2025:
1. The campaign launched on 28 February 2026 was code-named Operation Epic Fury, and major military operations under it were declared concluded in May 2026.
2. Unlike the June 2025 conflict, the opening salvo of the 2026 campaign killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
3. Iran's retaliation in 2026 was confined to Israeli territory, whereas in the June 2025 conflict it had struck United States facilities in the region.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The campaign launched on 28 February 2026 was code-named Operation Epic Fury, and major military operations under it were declared concluded in May 2026.
- Unlike the June 2025 conflict, the opening salvo of the 2026 campaign killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
- Iran's retaliation in 2026 was confined to Israeli territory, whereas in the June 2025 conflict it had struck United States facilities in the region.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q6. With reference to the 2026 Iran war, consider the following:
1. The campaign opened with nearly 900 strikes in 12 hours against Iranian missiles, air defences, military infrastructure and leadership.
2. Iran's retaliatory strikes included attacks on oil infrastructure and on vessels within the Strait of Hormuz.
3. Iran's retaliation was directed exclusively at United States military bases and spared all Gulf Arab states.
4. A United States Congressional report placed American aircraft lost or heavily damaged during the campaign at 42.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The campaign opened with nearly 900 strikes in 12 hours against Iranian missiles, air defences, military infrastructure and leadership.
- Iran's retaliatory strikes included attacks on oil infrastructure and on vessels within the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran's retaliation was directed exclusively at United States military bases and spared all Gulf Arab states.
- A United States Congressional report placed American aircraft lost or heavily damaged during the campaign at 42.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 1, 2 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4 only
Q7. In the analysis of global energy trade, which one of the following best expresses what is meant by describing a waterway as a 'chokepoint'?
- A. A port complex whose berthing and storage capacity is routinely exceeded by the volume of energy cargo it must handle
- B. A narrow sea passage on a high-volume trade route that cannot be bypassed without a costly detour
- C. A canal reach in which the draught permitted to laden tankers is lower than on the remainder of their voyage
- D. A coastal belt in which the littoral state levies a transit charge on laden tankers under its own domestic law
Q8. Consider the following statements about major maritime chokepoints:
1. Measured by daily oil transit volume, the Strait of Hormuz is the single busiest chokepoint in the global oil trade, ranking ahead of the Strait of Malacca.
2. The Bab el-Mandeb carries about one-tenth of seaborne oil trade and ranks third in global oil trade after Malacca and Hormuz.
3. The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, accounts for about 30 per cent of all global trade.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Measured by daily oil transit volume, the Strait of Hormuz is the single busiest chokepoint in the global oil trade, ranking ahead of the Strait of Malacca.
- The Bab el-Mandeb carries about one-tenth of seaborne oil trade and ranks third in global oil trade after Malacca and Hormuz.
- The Strait of Malacca, lying between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, accounts for about 30 per cent of all global trade.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q9. With reference to India's crude oil import dependence and its exposure to the Strait of Hormuz, consider the following:
1. India meets nearly 88 per cent of its crude oil requirement through imports.
2. As per the latest reported position, close to 70 per cent of India's crude imports originate from sources outside the Strait of Hormuz.
3. When the Government informed the Rajya Sabha in March 2026, India's entire strategic petroleum reserve capacity stood filled.
4. All of India's crude imports from West Asia must necessarily transit the Strait of Hormuz, which is why Gulf sourcing was wholly suspended in 2026.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- India meets nearly 88 per cent of its crude oil requirement through imports.
- As per the latest reported position, close to 70 per cent of India's crude imports originate from sources outside the Strait of Hormuz.
- When the Government informed the Rajya Sabha in March 2026, India's entire strategic petroleum reserve capacity stood filled.
- All of India's crude imports from West Asia must necessarily transit the Strait of Hormuz, which is why Gulf sourcing was wholly suspended in 2026.
- A. 3 and 4
- B. 1 and 3
- C. 4 only
- D. 1, 2 and 4
Q10. As per reported import data for June 2026, which one of the following was the largest single source of India's crude oil supplies?
- A. The United Arab Emirates
- B. Saudi Arabia
- C. Russia
- D. Iraq
Q11. Consider the following statements about Oman's role in West Asian diplomacy and geography:
1. Oman acted as the secret mediator for the preliminary United States-Iran contacts in 2013 that led on to the agreement between Iran and the P5+1.
2. Oman has served as a neutral venue for Yemen-related negotiations and for the treatment of the wounded from that conflict.
3. It is Qatar, and not Oman, that fronts the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz through an exclave separated from its mainland.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Oman acted as the secret mediator for the preliminary United States-Iran contacts in 2013 that led on to the agreement between Iran and the P5+1.
- Oman has served as a neutral venue for Yemen-related negotiations and for the treatment of the wounded from that conflict.
- It is Qatar, and not Oman, that fronts the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz through an exclave separated from its mainland.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q12. Consider the following in relation to the Gulf Cooperation Council established at Riyadh in May 1981:
1. Oman — a founding member, and the state fronting the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz through its Musandam exclave.
2. Bahrain — a founding party to the May 1981 Riyadh agreement.
3. Iraq — admitted as a founding member in view of the threat environment created by the Iran-Iraq War.
4. Qatar — one of the six states party to the founding agreement.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Oman — a founding member, and the state fronting the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz through its Musandam exclave.
- Bahrain — a founding party to the May 1981 Riyadh agreement.
- Iraq — admitted as a founding member in view of the threat environment created by the Iran-Iraq War.
- Qatar — one of the six states party to the founding agreement.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1 and 2 only
- D. 1, 2 and 4