US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Stream while it was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port. US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images With the Iran cease-fire on “massive life support,” it’s time for President Donald Trump to resume Project Freedom, and get the Strait of Hormuz open to normal commercial traffic.
Not Tehran’s traffic, of course: The blockade must continue until the Islamic Republic gives up its “nuclear dust” and verifiably ends its nuke programs.
The prez is entirely right that the Iranians have been “ ‘tapping’ us along, keeping us waiting,” making “totally unacceptable” counteroffers and generally “playing games.”
From the start, Trump said the cease-fire was subject to Iran’s “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING” of the Strait.
It’s done no such thing — indeed, it’s tried to make the reopening the only thing it does, in exchange for an endless list of US concessions, including an end to the blockade, war reparations and recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait.
These are insults, not sincere negotiations; they think this president is as much of a sap as Barack Obama.
As Trump also notes, Iran’s been stringing the West along in this way for decades — demanding it be bribed to even talk, then splitting negotiations into tiny slices — each of which it then stretches out endlessly, with even “interim” agreements evaporating along the way.
Enough: Our Gulf allies are now onboard with Project Freedom; they should help execute too.
As should other allies with an interest in getting the oil and so on moving again: Britain’s sending at least one ship to the Gulf; can it do more than “monitor the situation”?
What’s needed isn’t merely US Navy escorts, but decisive US action against any efforts Iran makes to stop shipping: Sink every boat that tries anything; eliminate every site a missile or drone is launched from.
Resume targeting all entire military command-and-control assets; get back to taking out every Revolutionary Guard officer we or the Israelis can find.
Whether or not the allies finally finish the bombing campaign interrupted at the start of April, keep squeezing Tehran until it agrees to the no-nukes terms, including, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump both insist, handing over its stockpile of enriched uranium.
As best we can tell, the only reason to stick with “life support” for the ceasefire is to avoid complicating the president’s talks in China later this week, but afterward he might as well pull the plug and proceed to impose Washington’s will without getting dragged back into the talk-talk-talk stall.
The regime’s leaders think they can outwait us, but we have no need to wait on them.
They can’t stop us from reopening the Strait or continuing the blockade; Trump can go ahead with that until they meet his conditions, or Iran finds new leaders who will.
