Retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward told Newsmax on Tuesday that it could take time before worldwide shipping companies are comfortable sending cargo through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Commercial shipping is unable to ensure the financial viability of that risk," he told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
Harward said a key issue is that Iranian representatives have not adhered to a promise.
"They've said they have mines. We've yet to see one," he said.
"We know they have missiles, and we know they have drones. So they're able to shut it down by a threat."
Harward, a former Navy SEAL who spent part of his youth in Iran while his father served as a military adviser to the pre-Islamic government, said the United States cannot fully secure the strait on its own.
"We could do everything we want to do, but it becomes the shipping industry, the insurers, that part of the equation that have to have confidence that we can protect them," he said.
Dealings with Iranian negotiators so far offer no assurances, and their positions appear counterproductive, Harward said.
"They have to guarantee the free flow of commerce through the strait, or we will continue to blockade them and starve them financially, as they're experiencing right now," he said.
"We could do it by force, but there's a significantly greater risk at doing that. If you have the political agreement to do that, that sets the stage for taking on some of that risk and acknowledgment of the end state for all of us: the free flow of oil through the strait."
President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States is extending its ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan's request as he waits for a unified proposal from the Islamic Republic.
The announcement came as last-minute ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran looked uncertain and a two-week truce was set to expire Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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