India, April 1 -- Even as US President Donald Trump struggles to have the Strait of Hormuz opened and relieved from the wrath of Iran's retaliatory fire, another key waterway - Bab al-Mandab or Bab el-Mandeb - known as 'Gate of Tears' over its treacherous sailing conditions has emerged as a key talking point in the war which has breached the one-month mark.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 triggered a drone-missile exchange that virtually closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which a fifth of world's oil and gas requirements travel from the energy-rich Gulf to other countries, with Iran threatening to target any vessel that attempts to pass through it.

Why does Iran get to choose who passes through the Strait ...