In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, a tourist couple watches the mountains in south of the Strait of Hormuz as the trading dhows and ships are docked on the Persian Gulf waters near the town

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In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, a tourist couple watches the mountains in south of the Strait of Hormuz as the trading dhows and ships are docked on the Persian Gulf waters near the town of Khasab, in Oman. Even as sanctions squeeze Iran ever tighter, there's one clandestine route that remains open for business: A short sea corridor connecting a rocky nub of Oman with the Iranian coast about 35 miles (60 kilometers) across the Gulf. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) less