A former U.S. diplomat said both U.S. and Iranian statements on the Strait of
Hormuz are inaccurate: U.S. claims the strait is open are not entirely correct,
and Iran’s assertions that it has closed the waterway are also false. Iran lacks
the physical capability to fully seal the strait and instead relies on
coercion—threats and missile strikes against unarmed merchant vessels—to try to
compel compliance. Not all shipping is obeying Iran’s threats; some ships switch
off AIS, run at night and hug the Omani coast. The U.S. military is deploying
assets to protect vessels where possible.
