21 mins agoUS, Middle East reducing Iran’s chokehold on oil through Strait of Hormuz
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week the plan is to render the Strait of Hormuz a “worthless piece of water” in two years, and the operation is working, according to analysts.
The United States and its Middle East partners are increasingly blunting Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, as tougher sanctions, a naval blockade and adapting energy markets reduce Tehran’s ability to use the key shipping lane as an economic pressure point.
“The balance of power has tilted against Iran a bit,” Iranian analyst Arash Azizi told Reuters, adding that the U.S. naval blockade was “really hitting Iran.”
Azizi said Tehran’s effort to shock the global economy through Hormuz had fallen short.
“It hasn’t happened, really,” he said.
Iran had hoped disruption in the strait, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, would trigger a major global shock and force Washington to compromise. Instead, alternative supplies have continued to flow and markets have adjusted.
Still, analysts cautioned that economic pressure might not be enough to force Tehran to back down.
Former U.S. negotiator Dennis Ross under the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations said Iran has repeatedly shown an ability to absorb pressure.
“The Iranians have consistently surprised us in terms of their resiliency,” Ross warned.
Reuters contributed to this report.