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Source: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/iran-is-winning-the-battle-of-hormuz-f0610f99?mod=opinion_lead_pos1
Iran Is Winning the Battle of Hormuz
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - The best selling point for President Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran was that at least it opened the Strait of Hormuz. Now the regime is trying to nullify those terms by using force against commercial vessels, Gulf states, and U.S. bases. All of this violates the deal. This is the Battle of Hormuz that Mr. Trump thought he had ducked. The regime wants to conquer the strait and turn it into a toll booth, with transit by permission only. This is the opposite of free navigation and provides no security for energy flows. During the deal's early days, vessels sailed out via the strait's southern, Omani lane. Tehran demands that ships transit only through the Iranian lane, request access two days in advance, and sign up for special Iranian "insurance." The regime isn't respecting the deal, which mandates a ceasefire as well as Iran's "best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels." That means don't shoot at them, for starters. The hard men in Tehran behave as if they have escalation dominance because they think Mr. Trump won't return to war before the midterm elections. They see his reluctance to enforce the ceasefire terms. The regime is leaving the President a choice: surrender Hormuz to Iranian terror or fight for it and reopen the strait by force.