The U.S. Blockade of Iran Is a Means, Not an End

The US naval blockade of Iran is a good policy, but its potential effectiveness appears overstated and its purpose misguided. Rather than back down from efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (as the Trump administration appears to be doing), the United States needs to double down on creating real leverage against Iran. That means maintaining the blockade, rejecting any further negotiations with Iran, and taking actions to make regime collapse more likely.

After 40 days of war and five days of ceasefire, President Donald Trump initiated a blockade of Iranian ports to pressure the regime to negotiate an acceptable deal. Experts and administration officials declared that the stoppage of Iranian oil exports would clog the country’s oil industry within about 13 days, which in turn would lead to the shutdown of its oil production and even damage to its oil fields. This, it was argued, would further strain the regime’s dire finances and force it to make concessions, if not capitulate fully to US demands.

Michael Makovsky, PhD, is President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).
Blaise Misztal is Vice President for Policy at JINSA.