The surviving governing mullahs in Iran have moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, impacting global oil flows and prices. The US has moved to continue destroying Iran’s military capability (along with Israel’s moves against Iran’s government and military officials), but shorter range drones and mines can functionally close the Strait for some time to come.
The US has asked its allies, especially those of Europe, for help in reopening the Strait and holding it open. Europe’s navies, after all, have more, and more experienced, anti-mine capabilities than ours does.
They refused initially, and are foot dragging presently.
That brings up my thought on oil flows in the Arabian Gulf and through the Strait. Iran’s oil exports are continuing apace, on Iranian oil tankers, and it already has some 50 days’ worth of oil on tankers in the seas around Singapore and quite a bit more in transit or on floating storage vessels. Iran also has just two oil exporting ports available to it: Kharg Island, in the northern reaches of the Gulf, from which 90% of Iran’s oil and natural gas exports are shipped, and at Bandar-e-Jask, just outside the Strait, from which the rest of Iran’s oil and natural gas are shipped.
One US move would be to stop Iranian oil exports altogether. Destroy the oil jetty on Kharg so oil and natural as present on the island can’t be moved offshore, and destroy the port at Bandar-e-Jask so oil and natural gas can’t be exported from there, either. In anticipation of a more peaceable government in future, it likely would be sufficient to destroy the pipelines entering and leaving those facilities. With Iran at war with us for the last 50-ish years and with us, alongside Israel, against whom Iran has been warring for just long, finally shooting back, Iranian ships and storage facilities are legitimate targets. We should seize and sequester Iran’s tankers at sea, with the possible exception of those tankers actually within Singapore’s territorial waters, along with its floating storage sites, sell the oil to other customers, and sell the seized ships and floating storage sites or send them to the breakers.
One more move: the US Navy could begin escorting convoys of oil tankers and other cargo ships through the Strait, except for the tankers and cargo shipping bound for Europe. Those nations continue to insist on freeloading off US blood and treasure while doing nothing for themselves. Let them pay the price of their freeloading or pick up their responsibility for escorting those vessels.