WorldHormuz crisis is commercial, not military problem, says David Des Roches

Former Pentagon director for Arabian Peninsula Affairs David Des Roches says the central aim of negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz is to restore commercial shipping’s freedom of navigation. He argues that Iran is using control of the waterway as leverage to deter future US attacks by making them carry an excessively high cost. Des Roches calls Iran’s attacks on neutral civilian vessels “a textbook definition of a war crime” and refers to charges for clearing mines laid by Iran.