Trump on Strait of Hormuz: “That sucker is open”

The Strait of Hormuz has been Iran’s most powerful source of leverage since the war began in late February. But over the past two months, U.S. officials say the American military has steadily eroded Tehran’s ability to control the crucial waterway.

The conflict, which initially focused on degrading Iran’s missile capabilities and destroying what remained of its nuclear program, has evolved into an open-ended struggle over the world’s most important energy chokepoint.

U.S. officials say American forces have now turned the tide in the strait, potentially marking a watershed moment in the war. They believe the development could bring gradual relief to the global economy while creating an opportunity for a better agreement with Tehran.

“That sucker is open. The Iranian response is very mild. They don't want us to go back at them. That's the whole ball game. The rest doesn't matter,” President Donald Trump told Axios in a phone interview on Thursday, August 27.

When the war began, the Strait of Hormuz remained open, oil continued to flow uninterrupted into global energy markets, and Brent crude was trading at about $72 a barrel.

According to two Israeli officials, the decision to close the strait was initiated by then-commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Gen. Alireza Tangsiri.

During the first 72 hours of the war, Iran announced that it was closing the waterway and warned that it would attack tankers attempting to transit the strait.

Israeli and U.S. officials say Tangsiri subsequently issued an order that dramatically escalated the situation by directing Iranian forces to deploy naval mines in the Traffic Separation Scheme, the main international shipping route through the strait.

Tangsiri was killed three weeks later in an Israeli airstrike in Bandar Abbas, Iran.

By Tamilla Hasanova