Mattis says ending war now would cede Strait of Hormuz to Iran: ‘We’re in a tough spot’

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. ending the war in the Middle East would practically cede control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil travels, to Iran. 

“Iran right now, if we declared victory, they would now say they own the strait. You’d see a tax for every ship that goes through,” Mattis, who led the Pentagon during President Trump’s first term before resigning in 2019, said on Monday during CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston.

“We’re in a tough spot, ladies and gentlemen. I can’t identify a lot of options,” he added.

On Monday, Trump announced a five-day pause on strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure as the U.S.-Israeli war against Tehran enters its fourth week. 

Iran has retaliated against Israel and Gulf states, leading to a near closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a spike in oil prices. The cost of a barrel dropped to $90 following Trump’s Monday announcement.

On Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said U.S. allies are starting to “come around” on offering support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

“We are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its genocidal intent,” Waltz said during his appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

The U.S. military has devastated the Iranian navy, with U.S. Central Command saying in Monday update that U.S. forces have damaged or destroyed more than 140 of Tehran’s vessels. Still, even with a decimated fleet, Iran can still inflict damage on ships passing through the strait 

“And they’ve got anti-ship cruise missiles that could be fired off the back of a pickup truck that can go 100 miles. So there’s the problem,” Mattis said on Monday.

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