US lawmakers: Ground troops "not necessary" to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Republican Rep. Mike Turner defended the U.S. war with Iran on April 5 and said that he does not believe an American ground force would be required to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Turner spoke with ABC News’ This Week host George Stephanopoulos amid ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf.

“I don't think U.S. ground troops are going to be necessary in any direct conflict,” Turner said after being pressed on whether troops on the ground would be needed to reopen the strait. “The straits are going to be open,” he added, emphasising that U.S. military action and allied cooperation would suffice to maintain navigation.

Turner also stressed that the U.S. cannot allow Iran to continue developing missile technology or nuclear weapons that could threaten the American homeland and Europe. “You have to be able to address this ... great sponsor of terrorism, this ... global power ambition that Iran has,” he said.

Turner's comments came shortly after President Donald Trump indicated that the Strait of Hormuz is not primarily the United States’ responsibility. “The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait and won't be taking any in the future. We don't need it. We haven't needed it, and we don't need it,” Trump said in a prime-time address to the nation, adding that it was up to other countries to secure the strait.

“We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” he added.

Turner argued that, despite the impact of the war on global oil markets, inaction against Iran would have had far greater consequences. “Certainly, you know, Iran is going to have some things that they're going to be able to do during the conflict,” he said. “But if you don't undertake the conflict, if you just step back and watch, as the Obama administration was going to do while Iran became a nuclear power and they became North Korea, we wouldn't be looking at the Strait of Hormuz,” Turner continued, claiming that if Iran had developed nuclear weapons, the world would be “held hostage by a terrorist state.”

He also stated that Iran’s capabilities were being reduced. “They still are being significantly diminished,” Turner said, “and their ability to be able to be marching toward a nuclear state is being eliminated.”

The comments highlight ongoing debate in Washington over the role of U.S. forces in securing one of the world’s most strategically important shipping lanes, even as allied nations are being urged to take the lead in keeping it open.

By Aghakazim Guliyev