Trump tells aides: "Willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked"

Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has drawn attention after signs emerged that he is seeking to end the war while leaving the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most important logistics arteries—as it currently stands.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 30th (local time) that Trump told close aides he would be willing to end military operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. While this appears to reflect a determination to bring the war to a swift close, critics say it would be an irresponsible decision.

According to sources, Trump and his advisers judged that if the United States undertook a mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the war would drag on beyond the planned timeframe of 4 to 6 weeks. The WSJ reported that the U.S. therefore decided that, after achieving its core objective of degrading Iran’s naval and missile capabilities, it would scale back the current hostilities and use diplomatic pressure to induce Iran to resume the free flow of maritime trade.

If diplomatic efforts fail, the U.S. plans to pressure European and Gulf-region allies to take the lead in reopening the strait. This is effectively tantamount to acquiescing to Iran’s continued control over Hormuz.

That contrasts with Trump’s hardline stance on reopening the strait voiced earlier that day. On Truth Social, Trump wrote, "If for any reason we cannot reach an agreement and the Strait of Hormuz is not opened, we will end our 'lovely stay' in Iran by completely devastating all of Iran’s power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island, and desalination facilities."

Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert and vice president at the Brookings Institution, said, "Ending military operations before the strait is opened is unbelievably irresponsible. Because the energy market is inherently global, it is impossible to insulate the United States alone from the economic damage that is already occurring, and if the strait’s closure persists, the damage will worsen exponentially."

The Trump administration faces substantial political risk ahead of the November midterm elections if the Iran war runs beyond its target timeline. Indeed, a poll found that Trump’s job approval rating has fallen to its lowest level of his second term amid fallout from the war with Iran.

Jang Ji-min, freelance reporter for Hankyung.com newsinfo@hankyung.com