Iran Sees an Opening to Kick the U.S. Out of the Gulf

“Iran is vowing to bar U.S. Navy warships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz as part of an agreement to reopen the waterway, pressing its goal of curtailing America’s decades-old military presence in the Persian Gulf,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Tehran’s threat highlights the ascendance within the Iranian leadership of hard-liners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who have long sought the ouster of American forces from the region. Though Iran has taken a devastating military beating, its leaders now see an opportunity to use negotiations on ending the six-month war to dislodge the U.S. as the dominant power in the Persian Gulf.”

CNBC: Iran’s chief negotiator accuses Trump of “theater diplomacy” with Hormuz traffic near standstill.