FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 20, 2026
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Iran announced that its military will once again close the Strait of Hormuz, citing violations of the recently signed memorandum of understanding. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:
“It is not too late to resurrect the deal and get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, but it will take President Trump cracking down on Israel in a way he hasn’t had the nerve to in the past.
“The nearly instant failure of the MOU is a predictable result of making it depend on Israeli cooperation, while being unwilling to force their leaders to play ball. The deal purports to include ‘allies’ of the U.S. and Iran, meaning Israel and Hezbollah are subject to the ceasefire, but neither of those parties were party to the talks. The Israelis openly oppose the deal and want to continue attacking Hezbollah, while Hezbollah seems committed to firing rockets into Israel so long as the IDF is conducting military operations in Lebanon.
“The war has not only been a total fiasco in accomplishing its aims, it has now made the global economy hostage to peace in Lebanon. The United States is paying Iran (in frozen funds and other potential goodies) to reopen the strait and agree to negotiate a resumption of something like the JCPOA, which Trump exited, and was an offer on the table before we foolishly launched Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury.
“The ultimate solution here is to not start foolish wars on behalf of Israel that predictably lead to the closure of the strait. Since we can’t do that, President Trump needs to put real pressure on Israel to not spoil the deal at the expense of the global economy. It’s not enough to yell at Bibi Netanyahu or have the Vice President bemoan the actions of Israeli cabinet members. Israel needs to fear reduced aid and suspension of U.S. military help, including removal of U.S. missile defenses that protect it, if it refuses to play ball.
“And if those threats don’t work, we should walk away entirely from threats of resuming war, talks with Iran, and even from support for Israel. Iran will eventually reopen the strait with a toll, develop more weapons, potentially including nukes; oil traffic will resume and adjust, and Israel will continue its aggression, probably with some reduced intensity without U.S. help. We will be better off for not trying to manage all the trouble, and safer for it. That should be our long-term aim in the region—not being party to its problems.”
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