A CNN report Tuesday evening cites US intelligence as assessing that Iran could use the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a new lever to advance its demands from now on, according to an item carried by the Abu Ali Express channel. The assessment follows the mayor of Tehran having reiterated the threat earlier Tuesday.
At 19:05 Jerusalem, CNN reported that multiple US intelligence bodies assess Iran can now wield the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a new lever to advance its demands — a development first flagged by The Zioneer at 19:06 based on an analyst channel, and subsequently confirmed Tuesday evening with on-record sourcing. The CNN report follows the Tehran mayor's reiteration of the threat earlier Tuesday, as reported by The Zioneer at 11:24 Jerusalem. The intelligence assessment came in three successive versions: the initial analyst-sourced report, followed by CNN's confirmation of US military inability to reopen the strait by force, and now the framing of the closure as a permanent bargaining chip. A senior official described the assessment to CNN as granting Iran de facto control of the strait, calling it "a weapon more powerful than any nuclear bomb," as the 19:45 Jerusalem bulletin reported. On Monday, June 15, as The Zioneer reported at 14:00 Jerusalem, Iran's Fars News Agency quoted a source saying Tehran was ready to strike but canceled after US concessions including lifting the naval blockade. Earlier that day at 11:55 Jerusalem, the Washington Post analyzed that President Trump's Iran policy had collapsed under pressure, leaving Tehran politically strengthened. On Sunday June 14, Iranian state TV declared the strait remains closed to foreign ships, as The Zioneer reported at 14:40 Jerusalem. The intelligence assessment has not been officially confirmed by the White House or the Pentagon, and no immediate response from Washington has been reported.
What remains open: whether the US administration will issue an official response to the intelligence finding, whether the assessment influences ongoing diplomatic tracks, and whether the mayor's earlier threat was coordinated with the intelligence community's revised estimate.
4 developments
- ConfirmedUS targets around the Strait of Hormuz exposed to potential threats
- StrongIranian chief of staff claims full control of Strait of Hormuz, threatens shipping
- DevelopingCommentator Goldblatt: double blockade on Strait of Hormuz reflects Iranian strategic exhaustion
- DevelopingIran-linked channels report fresh exchange of fire with US Navy in Strait of Hormuz
Source and signal
- Internal intake