Opinion: Iran War Is Now All About Future Of Hormuz

Updated: Mar 27, 2026 12:18 pm IST Published On Mar 27, 2026 12:18 pm IST Last Updated On Mar 27, 2026 12:18 pm IST

Published On Mar 27, 2026 12:18 pm IST

Last Updated On Mar 27, 2026 12:18 pm IST

If Iranian leaders are, as Donald Trump says, "begging" him for terms to end the war, they have a very odd way of showing it. The negotiations he announced to soothe markets at the start of the week amounted to an exchange of demands that neither side could expect the other to accept. Factor in what both are actually doing - the US deploying a small ground force to the Persian Gulf and Iran legislating to turn the Strait of Hormuz into a permanent toll booth - and it seems we are in for a longer conflict.

A lot has been said, including by some of America's most storied generals, about how the US administration went into this fight: over-confident in its conventional military advantage, over-reliant on airpower and fundamentally misunderstanding the nature and asymmetric strengths of its enemy. As a result, it now has few good options.

At this juncture, though, it's probably more important to understand how the Iranians view their situation. And judging by the response Tehran sent to Trump's 15-point peace offer, Iranian leaders believe they're in a stronger position to see this out - and they don't trust Trump enough for a quick settlement to be feasible, anyhow.Both Iranian beliefs are well-founded. From what we know of Trump's 15-point peace proposal, it offers to end air strikes and lift sanctions in exchange for Tehran returning the Strait of Hormuz to its status as open seas; ending and demolishing its entire uranium enrichment program, civilian or otherwise; opening up to inspections that achieve complete transparency; accepting limits on the numbers and types of ballistic missiles it can have, configured for defense only; and ending all support for proxy militias abroad.

In other words, it demands the capitulation the Iranians refused to accept in talks before the US and Israel launched air strikes on Feb. 28, but with the additional requirement that it reopen........

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