How the U.S. Can Keep the Strait of Hormuz Open

The summers are long and hot in the Arabian Gulf. I deployed to those waters half a dozen times during a long Navy career, and have sat on the bridge of U.S. warships watching Iranian gunboats warily too many times to count.

Sometimes the Iranians are very professional, and follow the standard rules of the nautical road. At other times, they can be the worst and most dangerous of mariners, swerving close at high speed, hurling insults in broken English over the bridge-to-bridge radio, turning on their fire control radars. And the behavior always seemed to turn worse as the roasting summer days – with sea-surface temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit – dragged on. Now, given the geopolitical climate, it’s not surprising to be faced with a very ugly summer in the Arabian Gulf.