The one strategic victory that Iran has been able to command has been to close the Strait of Hormuz, therefore forcing up petrol prices around the world by cutting key parts of the world's oil supply and indirectly pressuring a president facing some difficult midterm elections this November. A US pilot taken hostage, with all the propaganda use that Iran would make of that, is the stuff of nightmares for a US president, who would be powerless for some time to do anything about it. Whether it is a rescue of the shot-down pilot, trying to take Kharg Island or a ground operation to seize uranium, all of these options dramatically raise the risk for the US.
Author: John Lyons
Published at: 2026-04-03 21:18:39
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