<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on the argument that if Iran one day got a nuclear weapon, it would have the ultimate deterrent against future attacks.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">It turns out that Iran already has a deterrent: its own geography.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Iran’s decision to flex its control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic choke point through which 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows, has brought global economic pain in the form of higher prices for gasoline, fertilizer and other staples. It has upended war planning in the United States and Israel, where officials have had to devise military options to wrest the strait from Iranian control.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The U.S.-Israeli war has significantly damaged Iran’s leadership structure, larger naval vessels and missile production facilities, but it has done little to restrict Iran’s ability to control the strait.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Iran could thus emerge from the conflict with a blueprint for its hard-line theocratic government to keep its adversaries at bay, regardless of any restrictions on its nuclear program.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“Everyone now knows that if there is a conflict in the future, closing the strait will be the first thing in the Iranian textbook,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former head of the Iran branch of Israel’s military intelligence agency and now a fellow at the Atlantic Council. “You cannot beat geography.”</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In several social media posts on Friday, President Trump said that the strait, which in one <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116420194853200133" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">post</a> he called the “Strait of Iran,” was “completely open” to shipping. Iran’s foreign minister made a similar declaration, but later in the day Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-us-talks-2026/card/iran-s-revolutionary-guard-says-it-will-decide-who-crosses-hormuz-fp6NmXumx4K2F4P0VdlI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">said</a> that it would still decide which ships could transit the strait safely, suggesting that Iranian officials remain divided on the matter.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and <a href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F04%2F18%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Firan-hormuz-strait-trump.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">log into</a> your Times account, or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F04%2F18%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Firan-hormuz-strait-trump.html">subscribe</a> for all of The Times.</p><hr/></div><div class="css-1g71tqy" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-content"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-63woee" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-spinner" data-tpl="sp" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><g fill="currentColor"><path d="M11.28 22.8a.72.72 0 1 0 1.44 0v-6.72a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72Z" opacity=".37"></path><path d="M17.766 21.16a.72.72 0 1 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.436a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.437Z" opacity=".26"></path><path d="M1.506 14.653a.72.72 0 0 0 .445 1.37l6.391-2.078a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.369l-6.39 2.077Z" opacity=".61"></path><path d="M5.07 20.314a.72.72 0 0 0 1.164.847l3.95-5.437a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165-.846l-3.95 5.436Z" opacity=".48"></path><path d="M22.049 16.022a.72.72 0 0 0 .445-1.37l-6.391-2.076a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.39 2.076Z" opacity=".17"></path><path d="M22.494 9.347a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.37l-6.391 2.078a.72.72 0 1 0 .445 1.369l6.39-2.077Z" opacity=".09"></path><path d="M6.234 2.84a.72.72 0 0 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.436a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.437Z" opacity=".87"></path><path d="M1.951 7.978a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.391 2.076a.72.72 0 1 0 .445-1.37l-6.39-2.076Z" opacity=".74"></path><path d="M18.93 3.686a.72.72 0 0 0-1.164-.847l-3.95 5.437a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165.846l3.95-5.436Z" opacity=".02"></path><path d="M12.72 1.2a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72a.72.72 0 0 0 1.44 0V1.2Z"></path></g></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Already a subscriber? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="log-in-link" href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F04%2F18%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Firan-hormuz-strait-trump.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">Log in</a>.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Want all of The Times? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="subscribe-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2026%2F04%2F18%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Firan-hormuz-strait-trump.html">Subscribe</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div>