Iran’s flex in Strait of Hormuz puts Trump on back foot

Defense &National Security

Defense &National Security

Trump on back foot after Iran’s flex in Strait of Hormuz 

Iran is flexing its leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, putting the U.S. on its back foot as it looks to resume shipping through the key passageway and curb Tehran’s nuclear program.

© AP Photo/Vahid Salemi/Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP/Jacquelyn Martin

Tehran ratcheted up tensions this weekend in the strait, through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas flow, targeting cargo ships and warning that alternate routes for vessels would lead to delays. The U.S. responded with targeted retaliatory strikes on Iran. 

After four days of back-and-forth strikes, both sides agreed to halt attacks, and President Trump said Iran requested a meeting with U.S. officials in Qatar — leading to a rebound in shipping traffic and a decline in global oil prices. 

However, Middle East experts said Iran has shown that it isn’t scared to shut down the Hormuz Strait when it wants to back Trump into a corner, exposing the vulnerability of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in mid-June. 

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the president’s top negotiators, are in Qatar this week after meeting with the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, on Tuesday to discuss the MOU. U.S. and Iran delegations were expected to participate separately in technical talks with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan on Wednesday, a senior administration official said.

“We’re not expecting any high-level Iranian officials at the moment, but as I said, the technical meetings are ongoing,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters.

The diplomatic engagement comes after the U.S. and Iran shared back-and-forth strikes over the weekend, triggered by Iranian attacks on two vessels. The ships were........

© The Hill