AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): U.S. military officials have warned Donald Trump that any military operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be lengthy, costly, and deadly, potentially resulting in the death or injury of a large number of U.S. forces.
NBC News, citing two U.S. officials, claimed that according to U.S. military intelligence assessments, Iran's strategic priority has shifted from its nuclear program to the Strait of Hormuz.
According to today's report by this American media outlet, U.S. military officials have told Donald Trump that while the United States could resort to force to gain control over the Strait of Hormuz, such an operation would be lengthy, deadly, and extremely costly.
According to one of the officials, not only is there no guarantee of U.S. victory, but in the military plans developed for such an operation, should Trump order it, it has been assessed that it could result in the death or injury of a large number of U.S. forces.
These officials said that the risks of such a large-scale military operation have been one of the factors considered in Trump's discussions with his advisors about America's next steps toward Iran.
According to the report, three European officials and two Arab officials from Persian Gulf countries also agreed with the assessment that attempting to open the Strait of Hormuz through U.S. military action would be a lengthy and risky operation, potentially leading to U.S. warships being targeted with cruise missiles or drones.
They added that such an action could further increase oil prices, and there is no guarantee that it would ultimately lead to a clear and decisive victory. According to them, America's allies in Europe and the Middle East had previously conveyed this view to Washington during the war.
The report further, referring to Iran-Oman negotiations and the U.S. being on the sidelines, stated that two European officials said Iran believes it has the upper hand in negotiations due to its control of the Strait of Hormuz, and considers this leverage more powerful than its nuclear program.
Despite the Trump administration's claim of U.S. control over the Strait of Hormuz, the American media outlet acknowledged that ship traffic through the strait has sharply declined, and statistics from the ship tracking website MarineTraffic have confirmed this.
The NBC report also raised the claim of a deadlock in negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz due to Iran's new demands.
According to this report, Iran has announced that this waterway will not be reopened until the United States permanently ends the war, withdraws U.S. forces from around Iran, lifts the naval blockade of Iranian ports, unconditionally releases Iran's frozen assets, and compensates for the damages caused by the war.
In addition to the aforementioned warnings to the U.S. government about the risks of any operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force, the report also referred to recent reports and concerns about the depletion of the Pentagon's interceptor missile stockpiles, which has limited America's ability to continue operations against Iran, as well as the unpopularity of the war against Iran among Americans.
A new poll by the Associated Press and NORC shows that two-thirds of American adults believe the war was not worth it. This group includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as about 37 percent of Republicans.
Trump had recently threatened to resume large-scale military operations against Iran but backed down.
The Trump administration has also emphasized in recent days that the United States will try to exert more economic pressure on Iran. Some former U.S. officials have said that this stance can be interpreted as an implicit admission that military pressure has failed to force Iran to make concessions.
The European officials cited by NBC said that the Iranian government has proven more resilient to pressure than the United States and its allies expected, managing to withstand heavy bombings and the naval blockade while maintaining firm control over internal affairs.
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