US President Donald Trump is willing to end the West Asia conflict without a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme if the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, The Wall Street Journal reported
The report suggests that Trump has been laying the groundwork to declare victory in the West Asia conflict if Iran reopens the waterway. The US President has reportedly indicated that he is willing to end the war without a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme, and has earlier floated the idea privately to his senior aides, the report cited US officials as saying.
However, Tehran’s renewed demands, which include billions of dollars in US payments to permit the free flow of marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, have added to the challenge. Iran has also asked for the removal of American troops from the region and the end of the US naval blockade on Iran, among other things.
The White House had, since the start of talks with Iran to end the conflict, maintained its ultimatum on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Trump later attempted to postpone the caveat as part of broader negotiations with Iran, but the sticking point of Hormuz remained.
Iran’s leverage may have led to narrower options for Trump
Tehran’s latest demands suggest that Trump’s options of walking away from the conflict have narrowed even further, WSJ reported. This could be owing to Iran’s strategic leverage – it’s ability to essentially choke of the critical Hormuz waterway through sporadic missile and drone attacks. Through these, it can stall commercial traffic, which further impacts the global markets.
In recent weeks, the US President has declared repeatedly that the strait remains open, but the waterway has remained shut. Trump has also made threats, warning of a “massive bombing campaign” against Iran. However, Tehran looks ready for a “long and grinding conflict, according to the report.
The US President’s haste to end the conflict may also be owing to the upcoming midterm elections in America, scheduled to be held in less than three months’ time. The price of gasoline, which is much higher than it was before the war started in late February, might be a cause of concern for Trump.
Iran’s Guards say won’t open strait without US agreeing to demands
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Sunday said they would not reopen the strait, until the US agreed to its list of demands, including the payment of compensation for war damage, AFP reported.
This came after Iran’s security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr laid out a list of conditions on Saturday for the reopening of the waterway, which includes an end to the “war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.”
Iran’s Guards said their strategy was to maintain the closure, claiming that “until the enemy accepts all our conditions… the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway.”
