The arrival of US ground invasion forces in the Middle East over the weekend provides Donald Trump with the muscle for a perilous attempt to forcibly open the strait of Hormuz, Iran’s biggest pressure point in the war.
Iran’s chokehold on the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes, gives Tehran leverage that Trump understands, sending oil prices rocketing to more than $100 a barrel. The US president has said he is prepared to give diplomacy a chance, though bombing of Iran continues. But he also said on Sunday that he wanted to “take the oil in Iran”.
