Trump’s new 3-pronged strategy: Escort ships, bomb Iran, squeeze Tehran

Dubai, June 2024: In the ongoing Iran war, President Donald Trump has devised a three-pronged strategy to weaken Tehran: escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, striking military infrastructure Iran uses to threaten the waterway, and choking Iran's oil exports. On Tuesday, all three aspects of this strategy converged in one of the most intricate U.S. operations of the conflict.

The U.S. military escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying 18 million barrels of oil through the Hormuz Strait, a significant wartime achievement, while simultaneously targeting nearly 60 Iranian military sites near the strait, according to U.S. officials cited by CNN. The operation involved air, sea, and space assets, combating waves of Iranian drones and neutralizing anti-ship cruise missiles as commercial vessels passed through the strait.

Iran's presence at Hormuz seems to be waning. Tehran's next move remains unclear. The targets included air defense systems, radar, maritime assets, communications, and mine-laying capabilities. Washington's message is becoming increasingly clear: Iran might still threaten Hormuz, but it will become progressively more difficult for Tehran to stop everyone else's oil while exporting its own.