Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said in an interview on Sunday he does not believe ground troops will be required to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"I don't believe so. I think that certainly that this is going to be a diminishing regime," Turner said on ABC News' "This Week."
Turner said he supports launching strikes against Iran until it agrees to reopen the Strait, which has sent gas prices soaring and led some countries to ration energy.
"The straits are going to be open," Turner said. "It certainly is important to occur.
"But you can't say, Well, as long as the straits are open — we can let them continue to be a power that marches toward being a nuclear power that continues to develop missile technology that can threaten the United States and threaten Europe and continue to perfect long-range missile technology," Turner added.
"You have to be able to address this, you know, great sponsor of terrorism, this — the global power ambition that Iran has," Turner continued.
The waterway is a critical choke point for commercial trade, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia, and is key to delivering of humanitarian supplies.
Disruptions have shaken markets and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternatives.
The Ohio congressman’s comments came as President Donald Trump threatened Iran in an expletive-laden Truth Social post on Sunday.
"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the [expletive] Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes, and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.
Both sides have threatened and struck civilian targets such as oil fields and desalination plants critical for drinking water, raising warnings of possible war crimes.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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