EDITORIAL: Iran continues to play games over Strait of Hormuz

The situation has quieted somewhat in the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran continues to maintain that it will eventually assert control of the vital waterway, potentially charging tolls. This should be unacceptable to the United States and the rest of the world.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that “the management and full restoration of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s responsibility. No other country or entity has any responsibility or authority in this matter.”

As talks continue between the United States and Iran, Axios reports that American negotiators are attempting to move Tehran off that position by dangling the financial advantages of peace. “We are pushing them to think bigger about their potential in the context of a broader nuclear and regional non-intervention deal,” an anonymous U.S. official told the website.

That’s great, but Iran’s aggression the strait is in conflict with the memorandum of understanding it signed, which holds that military obstacles should be cleared and traffic immediately allowed to move freely through the waterway, The Wall Street Journal reported. This is yet another indication that the mullahs have no intention of going peacefully into the night.

Meanwhile, the idea that Iran can continue to arm and finance Hezbollah terrorists as they wage war against Israel from Lebanon, while the Jewish state is supposed to meekly stand down, is ludicrous.

Not surprisingly, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has bounced from one extreme to another of late thanks to Iranian attacks over the weekend against tankers in the strait. On Saturday, he took to Truth Social, writing that the United States may soon “be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” By Wednesday, he was praising the peace talks, claiming “it is all going well.”

But Iran’s efforts to slow or disrupt shipping during the 60-day cooling-off period are in violation of the agreement. That’s not a sign that things are “going well.” Anything and everything should be tied to Iran honoring this basic premise. Otherwise, the United States must be prepared to leave little doubt about the consequences of Iran’s disregard for the deal.

That didn’t seem lost on Mike Waltz, America’s U.N. ambassador. “If the Iranian regime thinks for a second that President Trump is going to sit by, stand by while Iran continues to attack international shipping without a response or our bases without a response, they’re sadly mistaken,” he told Fox News over the weekend. For that warning to bear fruit, Mr. Trump will have to do more than vent on social media.