News analysis
Iran finds control over Hormuz strait slipping away but US far from becoming victorious
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Probably the most ominous development for Iran is evidence that the US Navy is increasingly in control of the Hormuz Strait, says the writer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- The US has tightened economic sanctions and a naval blockade, severely reducing Iran's oil revenues by stopping exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
- The US Navy now controls most shipping routes in the Strait, allowing Gulf Arab oil exports while limiting Iran's influence.
- Despite pressures, Iran resists US threats, betting the US will not maintain long-term military presence to keep control of Hormuz.
AI generated
LONDON – With his characteristic preference for boasting, US President Donald Trump announced what he called “the most crushing economic operation ever taken” against Iran, vowing on Aug 20 that the Islamic republic would suffer “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale” and threatening any state whose “financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities” offered Iran “any type of lifeline” with “tremendous economic consequences”.
Tehran’s official response was to yawn. The Fars news agency run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dismissed the Trump threats as “delusional”, noting that all previous US administrations for over two decades predicted the Islamic republic’s imminent financial collapse.