Trump Punts Thorniest Iran Challenges in Push to Reopen Hormuz

President Donald Trump has pivoted sharply in his effort to end the conflict with Iran: get oil tankers moving safely through the Strait of Hormuz right now, and postpone the toughest talks over Tehran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles for another day.

The shift became unmistakable this week when Trump ordered U.S. warships to escort merchant vessels, then abruptly paused “Project Freedom” on Tuesday after fresh exchanges of fire. Iran responded by targeting oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates. While Trump has long insisted that dismantling Iran’s nuclear program was the central justification for American action, the waterway that carries much of the world’s oil and gas has become the more urgent priority — and Tehran’s strongest leverage.

“The Trump administration just desperately wants out of this war, and the sole objective that they now really have is establishing some navigation within the strait,” said David Tannenbaum, director at Blackstone Compliance Services. He even questioned whether Iran’s nuclear program remains seriously on the table. The White House insists it does. Spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump “has all the cards” and “keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spelled out the sequencing in comments at the White House: the president wants a memorandum of understanding that eventually covers “all the key topics,” but first requires “a full opening of the Straits so the world can get back to normal.” Global energy prices have soared, adding domestic pressure ahead of midterm elections. Yet events keep slipping Washington’s grasp. On Thursday, Iranian drones and missiles struck Navy ships in the strait, prompting American retaliation against launch sites. U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornets then disabled three Iranian-flagged vessels over two days.

This approach echoes Trump’s handling of the Gaza truce, which earned praise for stopping immediate fighting but deferred Hamas disarmament; seven months later that core issue remains unresolved. Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution, said Trump’s foreign policy has been “upside down: declare victory and hope it all works out. But in most places it hasn’t.” Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, fresh from the Gaza file, were sent to Iran only for talks to collapse into a surprise U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign.

Iran has shown little inclination to accept a moratorium on uranium enrichment. Instead it has tightened its grip on Hormuz, issuing new protocols for ships, demanding tolls, and asserting at the United Nations its sovereign rights over the waterway that laps its coastline. The administration points to Iran’s battered navy and air force as proof of strategic gains, but the immediate prize — safe, toll-free navigation — still hangs in the balance while Tehran waits out Washington’s deadline.

Original reporting: Financial Post.