President Trump started the war against Iran on Feb. 28 with an explicit aim of replacing the current regime to eliminate Iran’s ability to produce highly enriched uranium and ballistic missiles.
However, despite the assassination of numerous top military and civilian leaders, the Iranian regime remains entrenched and continues to attack the U.S. military personnel and assets in the region and block the Strait of Hormuz. A week ago, Trump threatened to destroy all power plants and bridges in Iran if Iran didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz.
As of April 12, as Iran refused to agree to stop enriching uranium during the direct bilateral talks with Vice President JD Vance, Trump announced the U.S. would blockade the Strait to prevent ships from leaving or entering the Strait of Hormuz.
The White House and the news media are linking the president’s threat of blockading the Strait of Hormuz to the failed bilateral negotiations. However, he already decided, before the negotiations even began, to team up with Iran to secure the Strait and share revenue from tolls. Iran has already started collecting from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s clear from his April 8 interview he isn’t against ships paying tolls to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. He just wants Iran to share the revenue with the US. It appears that after failing to install a new regime of his choosing, the president is ready to declare victory if Iran could only agree to share the toll revenues from the Strait of Hormuz. He is making a classic case of “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em.” Now, everyone should appreciate this true pragmatic approach.
It surely beats his social media rant about destroying the whole Iranian civilization. How Iran, after absorbing bombing and missile attacks on more than 15,000 targets on its territory, would agree to team up with the US and agree to share revenue is beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Huzoor Akbar
Athens, Ohio
