The Strait of Hormuz could turn into a deadly ‘kill box’ zone for the US Navy if Donald Trump decides to send American warships to the troubled waterway.
Sending US sailors to the narrow strait will likely turn them into easy targets for disastrous Iranian drone and missile strikes, according to the Navy, Wall Street Journal reported.
At least 13 Americans have already been killed in the war with Iran, which was triggered after joint US and Israeli airstrikes killed the regime’s former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.
Tensions reached a boiling point across the Gulf region in the days following, as Iran counterattacked US Army and Naval bases and Israel continued bombarding Tehran.
Now the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important trading trade routes, has become a focal point in the international conflict – as currently disruption has caused chaos in the global markets, namely with oil and gas.
Around 3,000 ships sailing through the corridor each month, but since the war with Iran unfolded many large cargo ships have been attacked and pillaged while passing through the Persian Gulf.
Trump – who has previously been bullish with how he intends to reopen the passage -called upon the US’s allies to aid with getting the trade route back to normal.
‘The US will also coordinate with those countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be,’ he posted over the weekend.
An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz
However, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Navy has been unable to to provide escorts for ships requesting to travel through the Strait due to the high risk.
Officials added that they have not been instructed to provide escorts, warning the passageway could become an Iranian ‘kill box’ if US warships and commercial vessels begin traveling through the waterway, according to the Journal.
On March 10, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the Navy had successfully escorted one through in a now-deleted X post.