Guaranteeing the free passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz is not among the "main goals" that US President Donald Trump has set for ending the military operation against Iran, White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said at a press conference on Monday, BTA reports.
This another twist in Trump's declared goals of his war in the Middle East is among the leading topics in the Western press today.
Despite its sunken fleet and daily American bombings, the Iranian army still poses threats to merchant ships sailing through the key sea route, writes "Time" magazine. The prospect of Iran imposing tighter control over the Strait of Hormuz could be one of the lasting consequences of the conflict, the British publication predicts.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with "Al Jazeera" yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz "will be reopened in one way or another" after the military operation is over. "It will be opened because of Iran's agreement to abide by international law and not block the commercial sea route, or (otherwise) a coalition of countries from around the world and the region, including the United States, will guarantee its opening", Rubio said, quoted by "Time".
In recent days, Trump and his advisers have concluded that an operation to liberate the strait would prolong the conflict beyond the planned four to six weeks. Trump has judged that the United States must achieve its main goals – to destroy Iran's navy and missile stockpiles and reduce the intensity of the current hostilities, while exerting diplomatic pressure on Tehran to restore free trade. If that approach fails, Washington will pressure its allies in Europe and the Persian Gulf to take the lead in opening the strait.
Trump and his advisers said that the mission to open the Strait of Hormuz has extended the originally planned duration of the conflict from four to six weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Over the past month, the American leader has publicly expressed different positions on how to resolve the strait problem. At times, he has threatened Iran with air strikes on civilian energy infrastructure if it does not open the sea route. In other statements, Trump downplayed the importance of the strait to the United States and said that closing the sea route was a problem that should be solved by other countries, according to the "Wall Street Journal".
But the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the greater the turmoil in the global economy.
Susan Maloney, an Iran expert and deputy director of the American think tank "Brookings Institution", described the prospect of ending military operations before the strait opens as an "incredibly irresponsible" approach. The US and Israel started this war together and cannot simply withdraw, ignoring the consequences, added Maloney, quoted by the "Wall Street Journal".
But Trump's expressed desire for a quick end to the war contradicts other planned moves, the American newspaper commented. At the end of last week, the amphibious assault ship "Tripoli" and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force arrived in the Middle East. In addition, according to information from the "Wall Street Journal" Trump has ordered the dispatch of units of the 82nd Airborne Division and is also considering sending another 10,000 troops.
The British newspaper "Guardian" takes a closer look at deploying additional US forces to the Middle East.
Emma Salisbury, a senior fellow in the National Security Program at the Foreign Policy Institute, believes Trump will be tempted to escalate the conflict by seizing one of Iran's islands in the Persian Gulf. "I think that would have very bad consequences and there would be a lot of casualties," she said, quoted by the Guardian.
The most obvious target is Kharg Island, a small Iranian outpost used as a major oil export terminal. Capturing one or more of the small islands would be the easy part. Trump is also considering a riskier mission: invading Iranian territory to seize the Islamic Republic's stockpile of enriched uranium. These stocks are believed to be hidden underground and it is unclear whether they are stored in one or more locations, notes the "Guardian".
Ground operations may not end the Iranian threat, the publication predicts. Naval escorts for merchant ships, mine clearance of the area and air support will be needed to open the Strait of Hormuz. The mission will require so many warships that the US will have to rely on allies such as Britain and European countries.
But the challenge could be even greater, the British publication warns. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on Saturday joined the conflict by firing missiles at Israel. The Houthis may begin attacking vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea - another vital route in the Middle East. This will leave the US with two sea lanes to guard, the Guardian concludes.