US President Donald Trump’s declaration of “total victory” in Iran has sparked concern among senior US officials and close allies, who caution that the administration may be overstating a fragile ceasefire with Tehran.
A post by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday stated that, despite major US strikes, Iran retains the ability to block ships in the Strait of Hormuz and threaten US forces in the region.
According to the report, officials remain concerned that Iran is unlikely to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz without concessions that Trump has been unwilling to grant. Iran has limited ship transit to about a dozen vessels per day, enforcing tolls and warning that unauthorised transit could result in destruction.
Officials are also monitoring Iran’s potential response to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, which killed dozens and injured hundreds. That said, Gulf partners reported intercepting Iranian projectiles hours after the ceasefire began.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich cautioned: “My number one concern is to see whether we got a real agreement with real teeth that involves real change.”
US control efforts
Despite damage to its conventional forces, Iran retains highly enriched uranium at Isfahan and likely Natanz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that Iran had previously avoided uranium enrichment, but Western nations feared it was approaching a nuclear threshold.
Gen. Caine stated that nearly 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was targeted, further limiting its weapons capability while leaving 20% intact. On the other hand, Sen. Lindsey Graham emphasised US control over Iran’s 900 lbs. of highly enriched uranium to prevent future nuclear threats.
Hegseth confirmed the administration is prepared to seize the uranium if Iran does not relinquish it, calling the operation challenging but necessary: “We know what they have, and they will give it up, and we’ll get it, and we’ll take it if we have to. We can do it by any means necessary.”
Strait of Hormuz is fully shut
On a related note, the Strait of Hormuz was officially fully closed with oil tankers turning back amid mounting regional tensions following continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The move came after Tehran responded to US-backed Israeli violations of a ceasefire framework that explicitly included Lebanon, warning that any truce that excludes ongoing aggression against its allies is effectively meaningless.
According to the report, maritime tracking data showed unusual movement by a tanker identified as AUROURA, which had been heading toward the exit of the strait. Near the coast of the Musandam Peninsula, around Khasab, the vessel abruptly altered course, executing a 180-degree turn before returning toward deeper waters inside the Gulf.
Fars said the maneuver took place at a particularly sensitive stretch of the waterway, located between Larak Island and the Musandam Peninsula, an area known for dense maritime traffic and its geopolitical importance as a global energy chokepoint.
Iranian media and naval sources indicated that tanker traffic through the strait has been halted following the Israeli escalation, adding that only Iranian vessels are currently permitted to pass. “We have closed the Strait of Hormuz, and currently, only Iranian ships and vessels coming from Iran are passing through,” a naval source said, noting that “only two oil tankers were able to benefit from the ceasefire and pass through the Strait of Hormuz before Israel violated the agreement.”
