If Iran attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for recent U.S. and Israeli strikes, it would be a short-lived move ending within minutes, according to retired Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, former spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces.
Conricus stated on Newsmax’s “Sunday Agenda” that U.S. and allied forces would swiftly counter any Iranian attempt to block the Strait of Hormuz, warning Tehran that escalating military actions would jeopardize its regime’s survival.
He added that Iran faces a critical choice after launching multiple missiles at Israel on Sunday.
“The Iranian regime now, you know, they’re between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “They have a difficult decision to make whether or not to continue to escalate … or to kind of concede the tactical defeat and the demise of their nuclear weapons program.”
His comments came after the U.S. entered the conflict between Israel and Iran, launching strikes Saturday (Sunday Mideast time) against nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.
The Iranian response included a barrage of missiles into Tel Aviv, which reportedly caused injuries and significant damage. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced their support for Iran’s retaliation.
Conricus emphasized that Iran retains multiple tools for escalation, including targeting American or Israeli assets and potentially blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint through which one-fifth of global oil passes.
“They can attack American forces. They can close the Straits of Hormuz. They can unleash the remaining ballistic missiles … towards Israel, and they can try to hit U.S., Israeli, or Jewish targets abroad,” he said. “All of those tools are at their disposal.”
But he warned that any Iranian military action — particularly a move to close the strait — would be met with overwhelming force.
“It would be temporary because, militarily speaking, the Iranians are really in a very sensitive situation,” Conricus said. “Israel has achieved aerial dominance. The Iranians do not have freedom of operations in Iran.
“Their Navy, their naval assets, their shore-to-sea launchers would be exposed to significant firepower of U.S. naval assets that are deployed in the region,” he said. “Any Iranian naval vessel or any missile launcher, anything else that would be deployed, would be taken out, I think, quite swiftly.
“The U.S., with its tremendous military capabilities already fully deployed in the area, would be more than capable of doing it. That’s why I’m saying that the smart action of the Iranians would be to de-escalate.”
Still, he noted, Iran has often refused diplomacy. “They’ve had many off-ramps, but they haven’t chosen them so far,” Conricus said. “When your enemy is making mistakes, [you] don’t interrupt him.
“Probably here is this tremendous hubris that the Iranians have carried themselves with. They think that they can continue to boss around and bully around nations, countries, and people in the region. They’ve been used to that for many years. Israel has now put a stop to that. And the U.S. has had the final say. And I hope that the Iranians will be smart.”
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