Tehran has effectively halted most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane between the Gulf – also known as the Arabian Gulf and the Persian Gulf – and the Gulf of Oman, which supplies one-fifth of the world’s oil, in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, which started on February 28. With tanker traffic severely reduced and crude oil prices surging past $100, major oil-importing nations such as Bangladesh and Thailand are looking for workarounds to avert a crisis at home, including diversifying crude suppliers and rationing fuel. The “discount” Mitrova referred to is a subsidised rate at which Russia sold oil to India from 2022 until late 2025, when Europe and other traditional buyers shunned Russian crude amid the Ukraine war. Bangladesh imposed similar restrictions on March 6, introducing daily limits on fuel sales following reports of stockpiling and panic buying. Ministry of Oil spokesperson Saheb Bazoun said last week Iraq had several shipments stuck at sea and that crude sales, which provide about 90 percent of state revenues, had sharply declined. To ease the pressure, Baghdad has proposed exporting at least 200,000-250,000 barrels per day of crude from Kirkuk via the pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkiye, which crosses the northern Kurdish region.