CRUDE OIL

Iran is trying to rally international opinion against what it sees as the perceived discriminatory tariffs and sanctions regime, backed to the hilt by the Trump administration, as a tool to spur a rallying cry against US actions globally. Tehran hopes that such a step would, in effect, put the US administration in an isolated position globally.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to its lowest level in more than 40 years as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

The strategy poses risk as the US war has heaped misery on Tehran on multiple counts. Strikes have decimated Iran's top leadership, navy and air force. Iran's own economy is in shambles and Iranians who hit the streets in protests months ago against the regime, could latch on to economic misery to trigger an uprising again. These are factors which could upset Tehran's calculations.

Experts have cited logistical nightmares and security threats that make skirting the Hormuz a daunting scenario. Alternative pipelines won't be sufficient to curb reliance on Hormuz as these have only a combined maximum capacity of about nine million barrels per day, compared to 20 million bpd that transited through Hormuz during peace time. But still, work is being carried out on such projects.