An old Iraq-to-Syria oil pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz could be up and running within three years, a senior Syrian official has said. The Hormuz crisis that cut off most of Iraq’s crude oil exports has accelerated plans by Iraq and Syria to rebuild a damaged oil pipeline to ship crude oil from the Iraqi fields in Kirkuk to Syria’s Mediterranean coast. Implementation will take between 30 months and three years at most, after which the pipeline will be ready,” Qablawi told reporters. The U.S. backs the Iraqi and Syrian efforts to rebuild the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline and diminish Iran’s potential to disrupt Hormuz traffic in the future, an official at the U.S. State Department told Reuters. The pipeline would be crucial for Iraq’s oil exports not depending on Hormuz, Syria’s post-war economy, and reduced Iranian leverage in the Strait.