Zayden al-Kinani, founder of the Arab Perspectives Institute, said the Strait of
Hormuz situation will become more complex as Iran seeks to strengthen
sovereignty around the strait while the U.S. both seeks to contain that
expansion and deepening its influence there. He said both sides are sidelining the
strait’s trade and commercial dynamics in favor of military posturing, and that
the U.S. intends to ensure any challenge to its presence in the strait is
transformed into a direct security threat to Iran—an explicit strategy to
prevent disputes remaining confined to the shipping lane and to place Iran
itself at direct risk.
