Letter to the editor: Trump hands Iran a better "H" bomb

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 07.09.26

On June 17 Trump explained why he ended the Iran War. “I didn’t want to see economic catastrophe. So rather than going into a depression, rather than having your favorite president be Herbert Hoover — he was always the one I didn’t want to be.”

“If we didn’t do this deal,” Trump added, “You would never have the Strait of Hormuz open. If we were going to drop bombs, let’s say we went another month, another two, three months — what do you have left? You don’t have the Strait. It will never be open because people that own billion-dollar ships don’t like sailing ships through the Strait when there are rockets flying over your head. They want to protect their billion-dollar investment. You wouldn’t have oil for maybe years.”

Hormuz Strait was open before Trump attacked. Iran closed it because Trump left it no choice. Trump just admitted that he isn’t willing to pay the cost of forcing Iran to open it. That gives Iran leverage.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity is a major shift of the balance of power in the region. It makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate.”

CNN reports that American intelligence assesses that those perceptions are accurate — Iran can close the Strait at will. One intelligence source called it “the biggest blunder of this era.” Another concluded, “We have now handed Iran de facto control over the strait — a weapon more powerful than any nuke.”

Why? Because, while nukes are effective deterrents, using them once would ensure Iran’s destruction. Hormuz is a better “H-bomb” because it isn’t just a deterrent — it can be used “in perpetuity” to blackmail us into meeting Iran’s demands, as Trump just demonstrated when he did an about-face and said it would be “unfair” if Iran didn’t have ballistic missiles.

Vince Amoroso

Sunset Beach