Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain have no way to get their oil and gas out except through the Strait. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Oman. Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain do not have comparable ports outside the Strait, and cannot send their exports around Hormuz by pipeline. “The closure of the Strait has argued the case for IMEC much better than any project proposal could have.” Ganapathy named Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq as the hardest hit because they have the fewest routes around the strait and economies that depend almost entirely on energy exports.