Trump Went to Fix Iran – He Broke the Strait of Hormuz

Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly set out to accomplish the diplomatic equivalent of a miracle: force Iran into a nuclear deal.

The plan was elegant in its simplicity: force Iran to accept nuclear disarmament. Maximum pressure. Maximum leverage. Maximum everything.

Instead, he appears to have discovered an entirely different problem.

What emerged instead was a brand-new crisis involving a stretch of water that had, until recently, been doing its job with almost boring competence.

The Strait of Hormuz.

For decades, the strategically vital waterway had performed its principal function with remarkable consistency: ships went through it, oil went through it, and everyone went on with their lives.

What began as an effort to make Iran surrender on its nuclear program somehow evolved into a crisis involving the very waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply passes.

It is, in diplomatic terms, an impressive achievement: Trump went looking for a nuclear problem and came home with a shipping problem.

The Strait of Hormuz, which had previously been best known to the general public as that narrow bit of sea between Iran and Oman, suddenly became the star of the geopolitical news cycle.

Oil markets panicked. Tankers became nervous. Governments began discussing contingency plans.

And somewhere in Washington, someone presumably asked: "Wait. Was Hormuz a problem before we started fixing things?"

The White House insists the strategy is working.

This is apparently because the original problem — Iran's nuclear ambitions — remains a problem, while a new problem — the Strait of Hormuz — has now been added at no extra charge.

Trump's approach to foreign policy has increasingly resembled a handyman arriving at your house to fix a leaking tap.

"Good news," he announces.

"The tap is still leaking."

"However, I have also removed the kitchen."

Or, as an observer noted, it was as if someone had set out to fix a neighbor's noisy stereo and, in the process, set fire to the shared driveway. Technically the stereo is still playing. But now everyone is standing outside discussing the driveway, the fire department, and whether the driveway had always been a security risk.