Pentagon: No Plan Can Guarantee Safe Passage Through Hormuz

By Staff, Agencies

The Pentagon has concluded that no existing military plan can guarantee safe passage for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or ensure regional energy stability, according to a regional intelligence source cited by Press TV.

The assessment reportedly reflects growing strategic difficulties facing Washington amid its war against Iran.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil supplies pass, has emerged as a critical vulnerability for the United States.

"The Pentagon's assessment is that, at present, no military plan has the political and security capacity to guarantee the Strait of Hormuz remains open, ensure safe passage, and maintain energy stability," the source told Press TV.

The reported assessment represents a setback for US military planners, who have long regarded the strategic waterway as a vital chokepoint requiring a sustained naval presence.

According to the source, the inability to secure unrestricted passage has exposed limitations in Washington's military posture and contributed to growing frustration within the US administration.

"Trump is frustrated, and he is seeking to settle scores and assign blame to the military and political layers around him," the source said.

The source also described Washington's economic pressure on Iran as a form of "psychological warfare against Iran's economy," intended to compensate for the failure to achieve its objectives through military means.

The assessment reportedly reflects Iran's strategic advantage in the narrow waterway, where geography and proximity favor the defender.

Iran maintains effective control over the Strait of Hormuz and says passage will become fully secure once the US-"Israeli" aggression ends on all fronts and Washington honors Iran's demands under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it remains prepared to deliver a "crushing response" to any threat or aggression as the agreement between Iran and the United States expires without a breakthrough in negotiations aimed at permanently ending US hostilities.