In a recent video from 4:06, As the United States grapples with how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without expanding its direct military exposure, a former senior Pentagon and State Department official is proposing a strategic alternative that reframes the entire challenge.
Retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmett, appearing on Newsmax, argued that the answer lies not in unilateral American military action, but in the deliberate deployment of allied non-belligerents whose involvement would fundamentally alter Iran’s strategic calculus.
Kimmett was direct about why the United States cannot simply force the strait open on its own. As a belligerent in the conflict, any American military action in the waterway would be met with the full weight of Iran’s asymmetric arsenal — drones, missiles, and armed speedboats operating in confined and tactically complex waters. He referenced the USS Cole attack as a reminder that sophisticated naval forces are not immune to unconventional threats, particularly in restricted maritime environments.
His proposed solution turns that vulnerability into leverage. By bringing allied nations — non-belligerents with no direct stake in the conflict — into the operation of opening and maintaining the strait, the strategic burden shifts dramatically. Iran would no longer face the familiar calculation of resisting American pressure. Instead, Tehran would be forced to answer a far more consequential question.
“The allies are non-belligerents. If they do this, then Iran has to make a decision about whether they want to bring Europe and China into the war,” Kimmett stated.
The general has written on this approach previously and reaffirmed it as his preferred strategic path. The logic is straightforward: expanding the cost of Iranian obstruction to include potential conflict with major European powers and China transforms the Strait of Hormuz from a bilateral standoff into a global flashpoint that Tehran cannot afford to sustain. That, Kimmett argued, is what genuine strategic leverage looks like — and it is currently going unused. Read_More…