In an intriguing article in the New York Times by Amanda Taub, she openly wonders whether the Iranians are playing with fire vis-a-vis the Strait of Hormuz and in the process force the rest of the world, not to submit to its blackmail attempts to control and make nations pay to transit the waterway, but ultimately overplay their hand and be left controlling nothing when the world moves on to alternatives.
Iran’s closure of the Strait gave it important leverage in negotiations with the United States to end the current conflict.
The Strait is the waterway where 20 percent of the world’s oil passes through, at least it did, prior to the beginning of the US/Iraeli bombing of Iran. When the Strait was closed during the conflict, it had a profound effect on the world’s economy.
This leverage by Tehran was cited by many analysts as a significant factor in the US’s quick agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), whose terms are widely considered to greatly favor Iran.
But that leverage may be very fleeting.
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