Retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward told Newsmax on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a "brilliant strategy" that pressures Iran while avoiding direct military damage.
Appearing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," the former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command said the approach puts the United States firmly in control of escalation.
Harward said that despite adversaries knowing about the blockade, a difference exists between understanding something in theory and experiencing it in practice.
"You always got to test things," he said.
"Listen, ... I hear there's a blockade going on. I got a fleet of 30, 40 ships. Let's run a few to see if the blockade's going to work. In this case, they found out it did."
When asked what happens when a vessel challenges the blockade, Harward said that U.S. forces determine the outcome.
"Then the ball's in our court," he said.
"We determine, is this oil that we want to see go through? Is this oil going to Japan? If it's clear and free, we can decide to let it go," Harward continued.
"But if it's linked to Iran, if it's linked to the conflict, then we can hold it in place and we can even take custody."
He added that enforcement tools go beyond simple interdiction.
"We can move it to a port and have it sit in the port till we want to make that decision, but the ball's in our court," Harward said.
"So it's a brilliant strategy to increase pressure on the regime without inflicting damage. I think a very good move by the administration."
Addressing concerns about Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Harward said the threat exists but has not been proven operationally. He noted that U.S. and allied forces are closely monitoring maritime traffic and potential launch platforms.
"This was a target of the initial bombing and have been targets the entire bombing campaign — to not only take out all the mines ashore, the facilities of where they are, but, more importantly, all the vessels who could put them in the water," Harward said.
"And of course, any vessel could put them in the water, be it a dhow, be it a military aircraft."
He pointed to past operations where U.S. forces intercepted vessels carrying mines.
"We're able and watching all the traffic in the region," Harward said.
"Let's go back to the invasion of ... Iraq in 2003. We went on every dhow and boat, and we found boats, dhows, with mines on them. So we blew them in place."
Still, he said that no confirmed mine activity has been detected in the current situation.
"To date, I have not seen any report of an actual mine in the water or a vessel carrying mines," Harward said. "So again, to this point, it's still a threat, not a validating capability."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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