One fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments typically pass through the narrow Strait of Hormuz on their way out of the Persian Gulf. But the Strait was effectively closed soon after the U.S. and Israel began attacks on Iran on February 28, causing oil and gas prices to spike and setting off concerns of a looming energy crisis. It’s a geopolitical predicament but also a geological one. The reason for such a tight exit from the Gulf also explains why the region has such rich..