According to The Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump and his advisers have said that the US is ready to complete the military campaign against Iran even with the Strait of Hormuz closed. According to sources, in recent days the president and his advisers have concluded that the planned operation to open Hormuz could take more than four to six weeks.
According to the publication, Trump has set the main goals of weakening the Iranian fleet and destroying its missile program. After these tasks are achieved, he plans to apply diplomatic pressure on Tehran to stop military operations and restore free trade. If this goal is not achieved, the issue of opening the Strait of Hormuz will be left to European allies and Persian Gulf states.
Trump and his team see Hormuz as more strategically important to Europe, the Middle East and Asia than to the United States. In recent weeks, administration officials in Washington have been reaching out to allies and partners to prepare for the opening of the strait.
On March 30, Trump said he was in talks with a “new and more intelligent regime” to end the military operation in Iran and threatened to strike Iranian power plants if Hormuz was not opened immediately. The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Expeditionary Force and the 82nd Airborne Division had arrived in the region, and that Trump was considering sending an additional 10,000 troops.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt also said on March 30 that the US was working to normalize operations in Hormuz, but did not mention this as part of a broader military effort to target Iran’s navy and missile program. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced that the campaign would end in a few weeks and stressed that the issue of the Strait of Hormuz would depend on Iran's actions.
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