Türkiye would not face immediate disruptions if the Strait of Hormuz were closed, thanks to alternative energy supply routes from Iraq, Azerbaijan and Russia, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said Thursday.
Uraloğlu told a live broadcast on CNN Türk that even talk of closing the strategic waterway has triggered volatility in global oil markets.
“Just the rhetoric about a closure caused oil prices to fluctuate by up to 15%,” he said. “Türkiye has alternatives, so we wouldn’t be seriously affected in the short term, but it would pose challenges.”
He added that Türkiye is actively working on long-term strategic projects like the Development Road Project, which aims to connect the southern Iraqi port of Al-Faw to Türkiye via a 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) network of railways, highways and energy transmission lines, providing a critical land route in case maritime chokepoints like Hormuz become inaccessible.
“If the Development Road had already been completed, markets wouldn’t have reacted with a 15% price jump to the mere possibility of Hormuz being closed,” Uraloğlu said.
The project aims to allow goods arriving from East Asia to enter Türkiye through Iraq’s Faw Port and continue uninterrupted all the way to London. “Our goal is for cargo from the Far East to reach Türkiye via the Faw Port and then move uninterrupted to Europe,” he said.
On the Middle Corridor, another key route connecting China to Europe through Central Asia and Türkiye, Uraloğlu said the strategy would boost Türkiye’s regional role. Currently, freight from China takes 18 days; efforts are underway to reduce this to 15 days. “No country can be fully self-sufficient today,” he said. “Türkiye didn’t become a regional actor overnight. Over the past 23 years, we’ve invested $193.5 billion in transportation.”
Uraloğlu also commented on the impact of ongoing tensions involving Israel, Iran and the U.S. on regional transportation corridors. He said airspaces over Syria and Iraq were initially closed due to the conflict, leading Türkiye to suspend its flights to those regions. With Iran striking a U.S. base in Qatar, the Arabian Peninsula was effectively sealed off, and large portions of Iranian airspace remain restricted.
“Commercial flights have been postponed, and we were expecting a boost in tourism, which has also been affected,” he said. “We’re seeing a return to normal, but Iranian airspace is still largely inaccessible.”
He added that discussions are ongoing with the Energy Ministry to monitor and prepare for further regional developments.
Türkiye is also taking steps to restore regional aviation links. Uraloğlu highlighted the recent resumption of flights between Istanbul and Damascus. “When you connect a city to Istanbul Airport, you connect it to the world,” he said. “Last year, the airport handled 80 million passengers and 1,600 daily flights.”
He noted that following damage assessments in Syria, Türkiye assisted in restoring radar systems and other critical infrastructure at Syrian airports. “We launched flights from Istanbul to Damascus. Syria also wants to operate flights to Türkiye. We currently operate 30 flights per week,” he added.
On the current Israel-Iran-U.S. tensions, Uraloğlu said airspaces over Syria and Iraq were initially closed, prompting Türkiye to suspend flights in those regions. With Iranian strikes on a U.S. base in Qatar, much of the Arabian Peninsula also became inaccessible, leaving only limited use of Iranian airspace.
“Tourism has also been affected, but we are seeing a return to normal. For now, only Iranian airspace remains largely restricted,” he said.
