Joey Hood, former US ambassador to Tunisia and former acting director of the Office of Iranian Affairs at the State Department, joins Al Jazeera from Washington, DC, after Iran threatened to target countries that assist US economic pressure.
Hood says the threat should be taken seriously, pointing to Iran’s recent history of striking neighbours from Pakistan to Oman, including missiles fired at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s leadership just last week, alongside long-running pressure on Jordan, Syria and Lebanon through Hezbollah.
Asked whether the Strait is open, Hood says it’s neither fully open nor closed: ships are getting through, some accepting real risk, while the US quietly escorts vessels through a southern corridor. He notes the UAE has doubled its tanker fleet and, per Bloomberg, is now exporting oil at pre-war levels despite Iranian threats.
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