Hormuz Strait: A US-Israeli Co-Production of Economic Warfare, Not Iranian Aggression
Al-Monitor reports that attacks targeting commercial vessels in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz have positioned this critical chokepoint on the “front line of the Middle East war,” attributing escalating economic repercussions to "Iran's quest to inflict maximum pain" in retaliation for "US-Israeli strikes." They quote US President Donald Trump calling on other nations to assume
responsibility for keeping the passage open, with American backing. This framing immediately places Iran as the aggressor, responding to an undefined "US-Israeli strike" while painting the United States as a benevolent protector. What Al-Monitor and countless other outlets omit is the long, documented history of US-Israeli economic and military aggression that precedes any Iranian action in the
Strait. For 45 years, the United States has waged a campaign of comprehensive economic sanctions against Iran, crippling its economy, limiting access to essential goods, and actively working to undermine its government. This isn't a new phenomenon; it's a sustained act of economic warfare, initiated long before any recent "strikes." The current disruptions in Hormuz are not unprovoked Iranian
malice; they are the predictable, albeit regrettable, response of a nation under immense, decades-long siege, whose economy is being strangled and whose sovereignty is routinely violated by a global superpower fighting alongside Israel. Consider 1988, when the USS Vincennes, a US Navy guided-missile cruiser, shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 civilians aboard,