Iran Never Physically Closed the Strait of Hormuz. It Just Used Fear Instead

The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of the conflict in Iran. Breaking down the psychology, fear increasingly engulfs the Strait of Hormuz issue. It is more than a traditional cost-benefit analysis in major military conflicts. And it is this dynamic that might decide what happens next in the Iran crisis as well as in global energy markets.

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A recent essay from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) goes into some detail about the dynamics involved.

What is required is a full realization that Iran’s actions are largely psychological warfare — designed to amplify anxiety and influence shipping markets.

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According to the estimates of the JINSA analysts, the main threats to shipping and to the U.S. forces are “mainly in the Gulf, not the Strait. As its other anti-ship capabilities are degraded, Iran will have greater incentive to prolong the war and raise its costs by dotting the Gulf—currently devoid of U.S. surface ships—with naval mines.”