In major backdown, Trump seeks to end aggression on Iran without reopening Hormuz: Report

President Donald Trump is reportedly willing to end the US’s unprovoked aggression against Iran without reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz in a move seen by observers as a major backdown.

According to a Wall Street Journal report published on Monday, Trump told aides he was prepared to wrap up the aggression even if the strait remained largely closed, after concluding that forcing it open would push the war beyond a four-to-six-week timeline.

Observers commenting on the report said such an exit by Washington would appear as though the White House was stepping back from its earlier posture, especially after Trump had repeatedly threatened consequences if the waterway was not reopened.

With around 20 percent of the world’s oil supply moving through the Strait of Hormuz, they added, ending the war before reopening it looks less like victory.

Since the onset of the aggression late last month, Tehran has closed the strait to enemy vessels and ships belonging to those aiding the aggressors in a retaliatory move widely reported to have piled up immense pressure on many adversarial states. Friendly states, however, are allowed to transit on the condition of close coordination with competent Iranian authorities.

Suzanne Maloney, vice president at the Brookings Institution in Washington, called ending military attacks before the strait was open “unbelievably irresponsible.”

“The US and Israel started the war together and can’t walk away from the fallout,” Maloney said.

“Energy markets are inherently global, and there is no possibility of insulating the US from the economic damage that is already occurring and will become exponentially worse if the closure of the strait continues.”

The expected retreat flies directly in the face of Trump’s previous menacing rhetoric. Most recently, he threatened to strike Iran’s electric plants and oil facilities, including the southern Iranian Kharg Island, “if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business.’“

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