https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-intelligence-warns-iran-unlikely-ease-hormuz-strait-chokehold-soon-sources-2026-04-03/WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Recent U.S. intelligence reports warn that Iran is unlikely to open the Strait of Hormuz any time soon because its grip on the world’s most vital oil artery provides the only real leverage it has over the United States, according to three sources familiar with the matter.The finding suggests that Tehran could continue to throttle the strait to keep energy prices high as a means of pressuring U.S. President Donald Trump to find a quick off-ramp to the nearly five-week-long war that remains unpopular with U.S. voters.The reports also provide the latest indication that the war, intended to eradicate Iran’s military strength, may actually increase its regional sway by showing Tehran's ability to threaten the key waterway.Trump has sought to downplay the difficulty of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of the world's oil trade. On Friday, he appeared to suggest that he could order U.S. forces to reopen the passage."With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE," he posted on his Truth Social platform.But analysts have long warned that trying to use force against Iran, which controls one side of the strait, could prove costly and draw the U.S. into a protracted ground war."In the attempt to try to prevent Iran from developing a weapon of mass destruction, the U.S. handed Iran a weapon of mass disruption," said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, a conflict-prevention organization.Tehran, Vaez said, understands its ability to drive world energy markets through its chokehold on the strait "is much more potent than even a nuclear weapon."
A White House official, who requested anonymity, said Trump is “confident that the strait will be open very soon” and has been clear that Iran would not be allowed to regulate waterway traffic after the war.But the official noted that Trump also has said that other countries “have far more at stake in preventing this outcome” than the U.S.The CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Iran’s out-gunned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has used various tactics to make commercial transit through the waterway too dangerous or uninsurable since Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched their war on February 28.From attacking civilian vessels and releasing mines to demanding passage fees, Iran has effectively blocked traffic through the strait, sending world oil prices soaring to multi-year highs and causing fuel shortages in countries reliant on Gulf oil and gas.Rising energy costs risk fueling inflation in the U.S., posing a political liability for Trump as he faces dismal poll numbers and his Republican Party girds for mid-term congressional elections in November.Iran, the recent intelligence reports warn, is unlikely to surrender that leverage any time soon, according to the three sources. They declined to elaborate on which agencies produced the assessments."It is certainly the case that now that Iran has tasted its power and leverage over the strait, it won’t soon give it up,” said one of the sources. All three requested anonymity to discuss the intelligence reports.Many experts say that a military operation to reopen the waterway involves considerable risks.
The waterway separates Iran and Oman. It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is only 2 miles (3 km) wide in both directions, making ships and troops easy targets.Even if U.S. forces seize the southern Iranian coast and islands, the IRGC could attack them and maintain control of the waterway with drones and missiles launched from deep inside Iran, experts say."All it takes to disrupt traffic and deter vessels from passing through is one or two drones," said Vaez.Some experts said that even after the war, Iran is unlikely to give up its ability to regulate traffic through the strait because it will need to rebuild, and charging commercial shipping passage fees would be one means of raising reconstruction funds.Tehran “is going to look to maintain the leverage that they have rediscovered by disrupting traffic" through the strait, former CIA Director Bill Burns said in a Foreign Affairs magazine podcast on Thursday.Iran, he said, will look to use its ability to throttle the waterway to win “long-term deterrence and security guarantees” in any peace deal with the U.S. and to gain “some direct material benefits” like charging passage fees to fund its post-war recovery.“That,” he said, “sets up a really difficult negotiation right now.”
>anonymous sources Yeah, no. I trust the president and SecWar
>>1503290I agree as fellow john from ohio oblast
>>1503283The French sailed a ship through there today. No information about what deal they made with Iran
>>1503322LOOKS LIKE FREEDOM FRIES ARE BACK ON THE MENU
>>1503322Good.
>>1503283https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/second-us-air-force-plane-crashed-persian-gulf-region-new-york-times-reports-2026-04-03/Thats two planes lost todayExcept another angry impotent post from Shitler laterI'm so glad we're spending all this money on an unnecessary war for Israel because Trump was recorded fucking kids
>>1503326If this keeps up, how long until he hits out a nuke?
>>1503333I don’t want to think about that…
>>1503333Iran won’t surrender if they get nuked, they won’t surrender the strait to Trump, that’s to say it won’t improve anything strategically and it will cause a lot of diplomatic problems for the US
>>1503337We don't need the strait. That's Europe and the Gulf states problems
>>1503290>I trust the president and SecWarMoron. How many times has he lied?
>>1503339You broke it, you fix it.
>>1503342Nah. Fuck NATO leeches.
>>1503339Strait of Hormuz closed = higher global demand combined with lower global supply = higher US gas prices = higher imported inflationRegardless of whether the US "needs" ithttps://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/04/03/trump-hormuz-oil-iran-war-00857212
>>1503340Never? Point to one lie.
>>1503343"President of Peace" = one lie of thousands
>>1503345get a real job shill
>>1503337You don't understand. Trump is a retard, Hegseth and others around Trump are end times cultists who want to bring about the return of Christ through apocalyptic bloodshed, and Trump has really wanted to use a nuclear bomb since his first term. If he cared about improving "anything strategically" and not causing "a lot of diplomatic problems for the US," he wouldn't have launched a half-assed surprise decapitation strike on Iran and killed 170+ little girls in the middle of negotiations. Neither would he be continually be threatening war crimes against the civilian population and talking about how he's going to be taking their oil like we're some sort of evil empire (so much for helping the Iranian people, am I right).
>>1503346>>1503347Go commit a leftwing terrorism you crippled bitch.
>>1503350Christ isn't set to return. He already did.
>>1503352If you're Paula White, his name is Trump.
>>1503351you're so mad these days esl shill. you don't even have a real job, relax
To win this war, Trump has proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget — a 40% increase, the largest since WWII.In exchange, we would need to>Cut the EPA budget by half>Cut $10.7 billion for housing>Cut $8.5 billion for K-12 programs>Cancel $15 billion for clean energy>Cut $2.5 billion for clean drinking water>Eliminate $1.6 billion for youth job training>Cut $3.5 billion from the Labor Department>Eliminate $395 million for senior employment>Eliminate $775 million in food assistance grants>Eliminate the National Endowment for Democracy>Cut $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health>Eliminate the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)And many other cuts. In all, cuts to domestic programs would account for a 10% reduction in discretionary spending.>Don’t send any money for day care, because the United States can’t take care of day care. That has to be up to a state. We can’t take care of day care. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care. You gotta let a state take care of day care, and they should pay for it, too. They should pay. They have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to make up for it. It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country. But all these little scams that have taken place, you have to let states take care of them. -President Donald J. Trump
>>1503362Source? And likely temporary as we'll be leaving NATO and telling euroshits to fuck themselves.
>>1503365>Our face is gonna be so cool and smooth after we cut off our nose!
>>1503365>actually believing Trump's bullshitHow are you this gullible?
>>1503365>And likely temporary as we'll be leaving NATO and telling euroshits to fuck themselves.Literally most of this isn't for NATO, what are you talking about? If we were leaving we wouldn't have to make cuts.
>>1503365https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-releases-proposal-blueprint-2027-budget/Check the link to the White House's pdf.https://newrepublic.com/post/208535/white-house-accidentally-easter-lunch-trump-speechAlso, very ironic that Trump's Easter speech basically amounted to a war on the poor for the purposes of fueling the war. It's very antichrist coded.
>>1503367I'm not, shit's always up in the air with dRumpf.He's like a fucking box of chocalates.And there's a few gross ones in there, but it's better than a box of chocolate shaped shit (Democrats, if you didn't catch the reference).
>>1503370Holy shit. Someone on this board actually sauced me. Miracles do happen. Reading now.
>>1503362Fucking bullshit. Our military already has ludicrous amounts of money. It doesn’t fucking need more, it just needs to be spent better. This bastard just wants any excuse he can to suck the American people dry.
>>1503373Not so coincidentally his sons have all started investing in a lot of drone defense companies lately. It's all one big fucking grift.
>>1503365>we'll be leaving NATO and telling euroshits to fuck themselves.Out of curiosity, how much would we have to spend pulling our equipment out of NATO countries, how much of that hardware would have its lifespan reduced to a fraction of projections because it would end up left in the elements since we wouldn't have garages, hangars, and maintenance crews prepared for it, and how much would we have to spend to replace and rehouse all that shit?
>>1503373But you have to understand that Lockheed Martin needs like half a million per screw for their missiles. These are like super special depleted uranium screws that make the missile 0.000001% more killy. It's the same reason why hospitals need a four thousand dollars per adhesive medical strip.
>>1503370>It's very antichrist coded.It isn't, no, the antichrist is supposed to be an extremely charismatic figure who unites the world under a new false religion, not a creepy psychopathic pedophile the majority of the world hates who unites the US' biggoted morons under christian nationalism
>>1503378Or Hospital brand Advils at $40 per pill in your hospital room or $400 per pill in the operating room
>>1503370>The president's proposal calls for $768 million in cuts to the refugee resettlement program, and $819 million in cuts to the Unaccompanied Alien Children program.Good, good. 2 billion saved already.>The president voiced his desire to shift more spending to states during an Easter luncheon at the White House this week, insisting the federal government's responsibilities include the military and war, not programs like daycare for young children.I'm not certain how this will work out, but this will allow haughty faggot states like CA to use their 'surpluses'.White house pdf>Building the Golden Dome. The Budget supports development of game-changing space-based missile defense sensors and interceptors, kinetic and non-kinetic missile defeat and defense capabilities, and enabling technologies for a layered, next-generation homeland missile defense system. By investing in a layered defense of the homeland from the Nation’s adversaries, this effort keeps Americans safe, while using innovative program management and acquisition approaches to prudently employ taxpayer dollars.Sounds expensive. I supposed someone was a fan of Reagan's Star Wars program. Not a bad idea though and probably actually feasible with modern tech.>Investing in Critical Minerals. The Budget dramatically expands DOW’s investments in critical minerals and domestic supply chains. The additional funding will fix longstanding shortfalls in the National Defense Stockpile and allow DOW’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program to make transformative investments in our Nation’s critical minerals industry.Holy shit. Will the US be mining it's own resources again? Will listless WV faggots have jobs again? We can't allow this China-bros!!!And what's the source for your cuts numbers? It seems like the idea is to divest from the federal government as a body that redistributes wealth to billionaires who invest in capturing fedbux at higher than market value (Like ACA and UHC).
>>1503384>It seems like the idea is to divest from the federal government as a body that redistributes wealth to billionaires who invest in capturing fedbux at higher than market value (Like ACA and UHC).Do you think the military industrial complex isn't run by billionaires? lmao
>>1503382Meds are weird like that. In some cases with Medicare You'll pay nothing for some medications administered by a doctor in an office but if you choose to pick it up at a pharmacy you'll pay an assload.Anon, please don't act like you know about US healthcare unless you're a professional in the field. PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH on the subject and divorce yourself from twitter meme knowledge and advocacy that usually only benefits the billionaires who own the insurance companies.
>>1503386No it is. But a "Golden Dome" and leaving NATO could offer a way out. Besides, who were you going to vote for that would've ended that?Joe, Kamala? lol.
>>1503391ahh, when the pendulum swings...
>>1503392It's mid-swing and you're pissed.Hopefully we get a few years before it swings left and rocks the US in the nuts again.
>>1503396have a penny mr shill
>>1503384>It seems like the idea is to divest from the federal government as a body that redistributes wealth to billionaires who invest in capturing fedbux at higher than market value (Like ACA and UHC).It's preparing for getting the US into a world war while he bunkers down and sleeps peacefully as the country burns
>>1503381Trump is extremely charismatic to a segment of the population while being repellent to others. He's very polarizing. And I think the antichrist would represent everything negative with humanity. We have it in our heads that he would be some sort of 360 IQ genius who would cure cancer, solve world hunger, and bring world peace while using the resultant goodwill to build a cult of personality and eventually religion that will sweep the world. He will keep his evil secret and subtle, hidden behind good deeds. But evil people usually don't behave that way. Think about somebody who embodies everything Christ is not, who is basically a totem to the Seven Sins, and gets by on luck, boisterous audaciousness, low cunning, ostentatiousness, and their inherited wealth. They wouldn't be much of an intellectual, they'd just be an asshole. I think if the antichrist existed, he'd be really obvious about it, but those who want to be like him will believe in him. Also, I don't think evangelicals are very good Christians, and they're the ones who are most fanatical towards Trump.
>>1503376Who cares about the equipment. Sell it to the euroshits. They buy it anyway.
>>1503362Hey, remember all that money we saved with DOGE? All that excess spending that got cut? Where’s the money from that?Remember how the tariffs were going to make us a ton of bank? Where’s that money?Remember how we were going to control Venezuela’s oil and roll in the dough? When that money hitting our budget?It’s so weird. Trump keeps doing this stuff to make and save money, yet keeps going “We need more money!” and keeps cutting shit. And the economy keeps getting worse too!And yet through it all, Trump’s people and Trump himself are making money hand over foot! We don’t even know how much, remember that Qatar bank account?It’s just so weird. Truly baffling. What could be happening? I just can’t solve this fucking mystery!
>>1503411>Where’s the money from that?A drop in the bucket of the 4 trillion dollar budget.2 trillion of which goes to healthcare, 500 billion of which goes to UHC.Saving billions is like a coupon for $500 dollars off a new luxury car.
>>1503411Ironically, those cuts cost money since some of those agencies were for maintenance or pursuing financial crimes. A lot of people can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that sometimes you have to spend money to save or make money. Your breaks start acting up? If you get it into the mechanic right away, it'll only set you back a hundred dollars. Penny pinch, and other shit starts breaking down, and suddenly it cost a thousand dollars to fix. There are tons of things in life that operate on this principle, in your personal life and in the government. Unfortunately, the government is extremely wasteful, and it seems like our tax dollars go into a black box. We look around, and we don't see the obvious benefits of taxation (aka good infrastructure or healthcare), so arguments for cuts make sense. But the cuts always go to shit that is lean and necessary and serves the public interest, never the bloated, cancerous, corrupt bullshit because that would cut into the grift. And then, when some corporation needs a bailout because their Adderall snorting execs gambled too hard with our 401k's, the government gives them as wide of a social net as they need at our expense.
>>1503398Thanks. If I add that to my Obamacare tax penalty from back in the day, I only need $499.99 to make up for the money that fuckface personally stole from me.
>>1503419Be sure to complain just as much at the fuckface personally stealing from you right now. Wouldn’t want to be hypocritical.
>>1503402I don't care what you think the antichrist would represent. Who the fuck are you? Why the fuck should I listen to you? Does god talk to you?No, we don't have that in our heads. I'm not sharing my fanfic like you are. I'm telling you what the book says about the antichrist.
>>1503416>giving a child named big balls a chainsaw and having him randomly cut/rip/grind parts out of your engine you will have to replace is a completely justifiable maintenance expense, and will save you money in the long run! I'm a fucking moron!
>>1503424>Wouldn’t want to be hypocritical.They're not being hypocritical, they never paid any Obamacare tax penalty and just lied about it
>>1503428Technically Obama stole my tax refund.
>>1503416DOGE was completely and utterly ineffectual. All they succeeded in redirecting money that saved lives in africa into the pockets of defense contractors. There were zero savings and we ironically wound up spending a ton of money we didn't need to to get back people whose jobs they cut that it turned out we needed.
>>1503448>DOGE was ineffective.Then you firebombed Teslas for nothing, huh?Sounds about right.
>>1503452You realize the protests against Musk were BECAUSE DOGE didn't do their fucking stated jobs, right? Also, they literally stole millions of sensitive social security data. We have former DOGE employees openly admitting they sent the most sensitive financial data in the US, which they weren't even supposed to have in the first place, to third parties using outsider services. If you did this shit while working at the federal positions that are SUPPOSED to have that data, you'd be facing a few years in jail after they're done firing you.
>>1503455Sure is weird how DOGE did EXACTLY what liberals were saying they’d do. But what do they know, right?
>>1503340>>1503345I mean that's the tricky part. He doesn't lie. Not really.To tell a lie, he would have to have a concept of truth. Instead he just vomits out a dozen contradictory statements in one speech: The war is already won, we also need to do a ground invasion to win the war, we also don't need any help from any allies, we're also disappointed out allies don't want to help and should threaten them, also we've accomplished out goal of destroying the nuclear program which I already claimed was fully destroyed during the 12 days war and on and on and onFrankly I think that's worse than lying.
>>1503455Sure, sure. Do more left wing terrorism.
>>1503455>theirUnironic troon spotted.
>>1503460That’s a correct use of their, retard.
>>1503461i think esl shill really does have a humiliation fetish
>>1503460>referring to multiple people>troon spottedApparently correct grammar makes you trans now.
>>1503461>>1503465Correct grammar is "it's".DOGE as a department is a non-human entity.
>>1503466Anon you can just admit you spazzed out when you saw a non-binary pronoun, you don't have to double down on being retarded.
>>1503469>you can just admit you fucked upCome on, you know they can’t.
>>1503470Trump can’t admit he f***ed up - he’s a Narsicist…
>>1503362>To win this war, lolhahahahahahahahato win this war they have to move the entirety of Iran out of the middle east and relocate it to idk the moon. Even Ancient Persia never fell and that was with way less sophisticated equipment than they have now. The Persians literally never fucking left. But suddenly Orange Nigger thinks he can change that because he has Bibi's cock 10 ft up his throat.
>>1503350> he wouldn't have launched a half-assed surprise decapitation strikeAnd to be fair: this was Israel that did that. Israel did it BECAUSE we were negotiating with Iran. That's when all of the switches were flipped and the whole war materialized into existence, because there's no way Iran would talk with anyone after we brought people to the table just to drone strike them. Genius move from the kikes at puppeting around this administration on their cocks like a sock. Just wait for them to try extending an olive branch and then jump in and violently attack the person they're extending it to with drone strikes. Then go home to your feudal serf state and go "buehh bueh bueh bueh oy veyyyyy we can't help you today mr goyim our jets are too old and we're afraid of the principality of Galilee :^( you'll have to fix this yourself" which only works until an administration comes in that realizes that he can just leave Israel in its own shit and it's not his problem anymore.
>>1503381From: https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/donald-trump-compares-himself-jesus-christ-ahead-easter-says-they-call-me-king-now-1789944>On 1 April 2026, the President hosted more than 100 evangelical and Catholic leaders at an Easter lunch in the White House East Room, an event the administration billed as a celebration of religious liberty.>What followed became instant controversy: Trump mused about wielding unchecked power while his faith adviser, Paula White-Cain, drew a direct parallel between Trump's legal battles and the Passion of Christ. The video, briefly posted to the White House YouTube channel before being taken down, spread widely across social media within hours:Excerpt of blasphemy: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9lmpBqaiGtI?feature=share>Separate from, but timed alongside, the Easter lunch, Trump made a remark about the 'king' label that had been building for months. Speaking ahead of a prime-time national address on the Iran war scheduled for the same evening, Trump said: '[On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as crowds welcomed him with praise welcoming him as king.] They call me KING now, do you believe it?'Excerpt of blasphemy: https://x.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/2039473838887485680Between the power he wields and all the Epstein shit, I think there's an argument to be made that he's pretty antichrist-like.
>>1503479Iran are fighting America because America attacked Iran, not because Israel attacked Iran. In the 12 Day War Iran didn’t strike at the US at all until Trump had them bombed, and in this war Iran are not attacking any allies of the US except for those who are participating in or allowing the US to attack Iran from their own territories (the Gulf states being the prime example).This idea that Iran would attack the US because of Israel attacking Iran is ridiculous
>>1503482He could be an Antichrist, although he doesn’t perform any miracles or prophecies and doesn’t fit a lot of the other things known about the Antichrist (looking at Islamic and Christian eschatology)
Iran have said today that Iraq doesn’t have to pay any toll, free passage for Iraq
>>1503482>I think there's an argument to be made that he's pretty antichrist-likeThere isn't. You're arguing he is the antichrist based on what you feel the antichrist should be. Why should I give two shits how you define antichrist?The antichrist isn't just some guy you don't like, it is a figure in a prophecy with specific parameters that Trump doesn't lice up to.You have an orange, and you're saying "I think this is an apple!" It isn't. "But it's a fruit." That doesn't make it an orange. "But it's sweet!" That still does not make it an orange. "It comes from a tree!" That's not what an orange is!
The difference between Vietnam and Iran is that Trump knew how to get out of Vietnam
>>1503559I said antichrist-like, not THE antichrist.
>>1503283This war is a clash between US Intelligence, Israeli Ethics, and Iranian Technology
>>1503559Only reason the comparisons have been popping up more and more is because the fundies in Trump's own orbit have been talking about how Trump is the hand of God who will end the world and usher in the return of Jesus Christ. That gets people shitposting about who the antichrist is. Most American conservatives probably think it'd be somebody who'd look and act more like Talarico than Trump.
>>1503337that may be true; but so what? You gotta know this idiot would love to use worlds biggest bombs.
>>1503346really? Wheres your Fifa Peace Prize? Thought so bitch.
