Iran will not give up the Strait of Hormuz, its “new nuclear weapon,” a CBS News analyst said Wednesday.
Speaking shortly after President Trump said he believed the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was “over,” Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and a former State Department adviser on Arab-Israeli negotiations, said, “Iran is not going to give up what is now their new nuclear weapon,” the Strait of Hormuz, “which is a lever of influence and control over the crossing point.” through which 20% of the world’s global oil supply is transited.
The dramatic escalation between the two countries this week began with Iran’s attack on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which required all ships to pass through the waterway in coordination with their maritime authorities. The US wants the strait to be freely open to all ships, as it was before the war launched jointly by the US and Israel on February 28.
A memorandum of understanding between the two countries in mid-June provided for a period of 60 days to conclude a final peace agreement, including a settlement of the situation in Armuz.
“I think it was tied to a galaxy far, far away, rather than reality on the planet,” Miller said of the proposed timeline.
“A flawed military campaign creates a flawed memorandum of understanding, creates a flawed implementation process,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump, who on Wednesday called Iran’s leadership a “scumbag,” a “cuckoo” and a “cancer,” “cannot leave this conflict completely subdued when none of its goals (have been) achieved,” Miller said. “I think it’s going to be very difficult for him to just walk away.”
