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Operation Epic Fury grinds ahead, and as U.S. military forces hammer the Iranian terrorist regime in the Middle East, questions remain about the safety and security of the Strait of Hormuz – an integral shipping corridor key to transporting roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil.
On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump addressed the condition of the Strait, which has been under threat of Iranian attack since the onset of the military operation.
“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’” the president suggested on Truth Social. “That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”
His comments come amid broad hesitation from NATO nations when it comes to the Iranian combat operation, which includes the U.S. forces’ joint work with Israel.
It also comes just after the United States dropped bunker-buster bombs on several underground Iranian missile sites on the coastline of the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by RSBN.
This week, President Trump acknowledged that most NATO allies overseas have been unwilling to get militarily involved in Operation Epic Fury.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he wrote on Tuesday.
The Strait of Hormuz has been a sticking point throughout this operation, as the safety of the corridor has not been guaranteed amid Iranian aggression. To date, the U.S. military has destroyed or damaged more than 120 Iranian naval vessels and struck more than 7,800 targets, according to the U.S. Central Command.
The president’s suggestion of pulling U.S. military presence out of the Strait may be alarming to some NATO nations that depend quite heavily on the region’s oil. It could, possibly, be an indication that the U.S. military has destroyed enough Iranian military infrastructure to feel comfortable making such a threat, although nothing is for certain.
On Tuesday, President Trump said the U.S. military may be ready to leave the region in the “near future,” and said the Iranian regime had been “decimated, from every standpoint.”
During her testimony before lawmakers on Wednesday, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard noted that the intelligence community had assessed that, if the hostile regime in Iran were to survive, “it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military, missiles, and UAV forces.”
The tense situation in Iran has placed significant pressure on NATO allies as President Trump has expressed his displeasure. On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had been in contact with “many allies, we all agree of course, the Strait has to open up again.”
Rutte said these allies, which are yet unidentified, “are discussing how to do that.”
