Still a threat? I thought baboon destroyed everything????

Iran still threatens Strait of Hormuz

Tehran’s ability to scare off commercial ships continues to give it leverage in any peace negotiation with the U.S.

By Leo Shane III

A top Pentagon official conceded Thursday that Iran remains a threat in the Strait of Hormuz despite the Trump administration’s insistence it has devastated the country’s military capabilities.

Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the operations in the region, told lawmakers that Iran’s warnings continue to scare off commercial ships — despite U.S. military dominance in the region. The dichotomy underscores the biggest White House challenge to resolving the conflict: Tehran can use the stranglehold over the strait as leverage in peace negotiations with the United States.

“The Iranian capability to stop commerce has been dramatically depleted through the strait, but their voice is very loud,” Cooper told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “And those threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and insurance industry.”

Cooper, in his first public testimony since the start of the Iran war, said the American military assault on Iran has “significantly degraded” the country’s military abilities and “they no longer threaten regional partners or the United States in ways that they were able to do before.”

But he acknowledged that the Iranian military still poses a threat to regional neighbors. “They are a very large country, and they retain some military capability,” he said.

Cooper pushed back on reports that Iran retains about 70 percent of its mobile launchers and prewar missile stockpile, saying that those numbers “are not accurate.” He said that Iran missile levels will take years to replenish, and their naval forces might not be restored “for a generation.”

Senators received a classified briefing ahead of Thursday’s public hearing on U.S. force levels and challenges in the region. But Cooper repeatedly avoided revealing specifics during the open session, to the frustration of committee Democrats.

“It may be diminished power, but if the United States military is not physically opening the strait right now, it’s because the Iranians do have the real capability to [send] drone strikes into Gulf countries, affecting their oil infrastructure and sending the price of oil worldwide even higher,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).

About a fifth of the world’s oil travels through the critical strait.

Cooper did say that U.S. naval forces are prepared to resume Project Freedom — the short-lived mission to clear the strait for civilian vessels — if the White House gives the order. That effort was paused by President Donald Trump less than 48 hours after it began because, he said, of a request from mediators working on a peace deal between the countries.

Trump, in a letter to Congress on May 1, declared the Iran war “terminated” due to a ceasefire between the two nations. But he declined to start drawing down forces stationed throughout the Middle East. He has suggested in social media posts that strikes could begin again if peace talks don’t progress.

Cooper did not offer any timeline for when American troops might begin withdrawing from the region.

But other officials hinted Thursday that the war was taking a toll on the military. Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Chief of Naval Operations, warned lawmakers that the service might need to curtail training, recruitment and other efforts this summer without additional funding.

Caudle told the House Armed Services Committee that the existing budget “didn’t bake in” the Iran war that began in February. It’s the latest indication that the conflict, which administration officials have dubbed Epic Fury, is running up a significant tab.

“Without supplemental funding, I do fear that I’ll have to start making decisions in the July time frame on how I do force generation,” Caudle said. “That can make differences between how I do exercises, how I do routine operations, in order to make sure that I ... have the funds necessary to continue the war effort for Epic Fury.”

The comments also come after Pentagon officials informed lawmakers this week that the war has cost $29 billion — up from $25 billion last month — and as the American public becomes increasingly frustrated with rising gas prices.