• Source:JND

United States President Donald Trump has urged the country's allies to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to keep it open and safe.

"Many Countries, especially those that are affected by Iran's attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending warships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe," Trump said.

The White House has not provided further details on what Trump meant in his post, but other countries have reacted to it cautiously. While most countries have not openly agreed to it, some have said they were considering the option.

The statement is a first public remark by Trump in 16 days of war that suggests the US is not able to reopen the crucial waterway on its own.

Iran closed the Strait in the wake of the February 28 strikes, which started the war in the Middle East. Recently, Tehran clarified that the Strait is open to all, except the US, Israel and their allies, while attacks on tankers and vessels continue.

What Iran plans to achieve with Hormuz closure and why is US worried?

Iran and the US are located over 11,500 km apart. For Tehran, it is impossible to hit the US territories while the US has both the military capabilities and bases in the Middle East to strike the Iranian territories.

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Therefore, Iran's policy has been to widen the war theatre to include the entire Middle East and to increase the global cost to unleash worldwide pressure on Trump.

US failed to anticipate Iran's obvious move

According to a report by The Guardian, US military planners have long warned that Iran could close Hormuz during conflict, but overwhelmed Trump and his administration ignored such a possibility.

Some analysts were of the view that Iran would not close the Strait as it has to transit its own oil through there. But the US and Israel failed to anticipate that decapitating strikes could normalise such a harsher response from Tehran.

The US, at present, is not in a condition to protect shipments in the Strait, despite it claiming an overwhelming edge over Iran. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday said that the US Navy was not yet ready to carry out a naval escort operation. "It’ll happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now," he said, adding, "We’re simply not ready."

Why is US navy not able to provide escorts?

Iran is just 3 to 4 miles from the transit lanes, which makes its action short and quick, even less than two minutes. In contrast, the enemy country lacks geographic edge to give an appropriate counter.

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Additionally, the US has been engaging in destroying the Iranian navy and its assets in the sea, but the country has a network of small, fast boats, which it has been using to mine the Strait.

The report further added that Iran used a remote-controlled, explosives-laden boast last week to target a crude oil tanker in Iraqi waters.


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