For weeks, the goal of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has been to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed in response to the war. Now that there is a ceasefire, President Donald Trump has declared that U.S. policy is to keep the strait closed, to prevent Iran from extorting vessels that cross. If we can't have it, he seems to be declaring, no one can.
"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote in a social media rant on Sunday morning. "I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas."
