Washington Cannot Secure Hormuz by Ignoring Iran

Renewed confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz just days after the June 17 US-Iran interim framework exposes the central weakness of Washington’s approach to Gulf security. The question is not whether the United States can deploy more ships, launch more patrols, or defeat individual Iranian attacks. It can. The harder question is whether it can keep commercial traffic moving normally, safely, and at an acceptable political and economic cost when Iran chooses to raise the risk. The latest disruption, in which shipping again slowed after attacks and conflicting transit arrangements, shows why those are not the same thing.