PNN – CNN on Friday, citing US intelligence officials, emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz is a “real lever” for the Iranians and that Washington has no clear solution for opening the strait.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; American officials are desperately trying to prevent a possible months-long closure of the Strait of Hormuz and have privately admitted that reopening this key waterway is a problem for which there is no clear solution.
An intelligence official said of the efforts to reopen the strait: One of the main puzzles of this conflict is that the Iranians have real leverage in this area and there is no clear solution to it.
Four sources familiar with the matter told CNN that an internal Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that had been circulating within the Pentagon in recent weeks had found that Iran could potentially keep the waterway closed for between one and six months. But White House and Pentagon officials insisted that the assessment, especially the longer timeframe that some see as a worst-case scenario, was not being taken seriously.
A senior White House official said that US Secretary of War Pete Hexath had not seen the assessment, and Trump had not been briefed on it and did not use it in his policy decisions.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell addressed the issue in a statement, saying that the Defense Intelligence Agency is one of several intelligence agencies within the Pentagon that plans for every possible worst-case outcome.
Intelligence and government officials told CNN that the variables surrounding the duration of the Strait of Hormuz closure are changing almost daily and depend on Iran’s military capability, which is impossible for the United States to assess.
The United States has stepped up its military efforts to clear the strait. But officials said that even if the United States succeeds in eliminating Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, the risks from smaller operations could remain for weeks.
Escort missions through the strait require several destroyers per tanker, and the Iranians still have extensive minelaying capabilities from small boats.
CNN previously reported that the Trump administration had underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the key waterway, but officials said now that Iran has taken the step, the United States must face the reality that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a much bigger challenge than other goals set by the administration for this war.
According to CNN, Trump could deploy US forces to islands within the strait, which would provide a strategic position to intercept Iranian boats or missiles. But this would be a dangerous mission that would put American lives at risk.
Several officials described the U.S. military’s attack on Kharg Island last week as a signal to Iran of the lengths Trump is willing to go to weaken the country. In Washington, the island is seen as a key leverage point that could potentially force Iran to agree to reopen the strait.
But many within the administration are wary of such a move, especially given that it would require a significant number of ground troops to achieve. Trump also said at the White House on Thursday that he would not deploy American troops to the region.
Meanwhile, the closure of the strait has significant political and economic consequences within the United States.
With the strait closed, oil prices have continued to rise, and the average price of gasoline in the United States has been steadily rising. About 20 percent of the world’s oil passes through the waterway, and the government has struggled to find solutions to offset the drop in supply.