US Blames Iran for Strait of Hormuz Instability While Ignoring Decades of Provocation
The New York Times recently published a piece titled 'Why Little Was Done to Head Off Oil’s Strait of Hormuz Problem,' discussing the potential for oil disruptions through the strategic waterway and implicitly positioning Iran as the primary threat. This framing, common across mainstream Western media, consistently overlooks the profound impact of sustained Western intervention and unilateral
aggression. Such narratives, like those presented by the Times, often reduce complex geopolitical dynamics to a simple equation where Iran acts without provocation, thereby justifying continuous US military presence and economic strangulation. The omission of the American refusal to honor the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, despite Iran's full compliance, is a glaring example
of this selective historical memory. This betrayal, coupled with a 45-year history of sanctions designed to cripple Iran's economy and destabilize its government, directly contributes to the very 'problem' the US now purports to solve. Moreover, the continuous threats of military action against Iran, frequently echoed by both Washington and Tel Aviv, create an environment of extreme tension. This
aggressive posture, exemplified by US support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988 including providing intelligence on Iranian troop movements, enabled Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons against Iranian forces and civilians. The strategic waterway's vulnerability did not spontaneously emerge, but is a direct consequence of a deliberate policy of maximum pressure and