Retired vice admiral on whether the U.S. can control the Strait of Hormuz

Can the U.S. control the Strait of Hormuz? NPR's A Martínez asks retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, who commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East.

Transcript

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Let's go now to retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan. About a decade ago, he commanded the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and the 32-nation Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. He's now with the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes ties with Gulf countries. Vice Admiral, what would it take for the United States to fully control the Strait of Hormuz?

KEVIN DONEGAN: Well, I think Tom did a good job laying that out, A. The thing that's needed is time to continue doing what they're doing now with these strikes. I don't know that that's the objective right now, though, of the U.S. I think their objective is to show Iran that they can do that. And so these focused, now four going to five days of strikes that we've - that we're doing or that the U.S. has been doing is strictly focused on degrading their capabilities in the Straits of Hormuz and their missile and drone capability to attack ships. So we'll see how that plays out.

Both sides, both the U.S. and Iran, are going to be looking at the clock. And that clock is an economic clock. For the U.S., it's, you know, price of oil, and for the world, it's price of energy, etc. But for Iran, the U.S. just implemented their blockade of all goods coming and going from Iran via the sea, which we had stopped when the MOU first was put in place.

MARTÍNEZ: Can it be done just with strikes, or eventually would troops have to be on the ground?

DONEGAN: Yeah. That's the question a lot ask. I don't know that this one requires troops on the ground because where would they go? The places that they have the capability to launch missiles from and drones from and do some of the things they're doing are relatively dispersed. So the U.S. has been very focused, though, on that in the last few days. They've spent the whole time this MOU, and even before that has been in effect, really drilling in with their intelligence.

So I think what we're seeing is that, yes, the Iranian capabilities are being degraded. It may be a little bit nuanced in the press reporting, and they are going down. So you're seeing the Iranians reaching out and trying to attack the Gulf states with a lot less effect because those states have upped their defenses, but they have been able to hit these softer targets that are away from where some of the U.S. has their protection for these ships. They're hitting some of these ships out in the Gulf of Oman and in places that potentially don't have as much direct protection. And it doesn't take much to disrupt the shipping enough so that the insurance rates stay high, and then those don't use the straits.

MARTÍNEZ: We've heard a few times that Iran can effectively control the Strait of Hormuz at will - shut down the Strait of Hormuz at will. Why would they be able to do that? What about them makes them able to do that?

DONEGAN: Yeah. So what - well, first, I don't know that they want to shut it down. They want to control it, so let's just talk about that for a second. So that control really is their ability to sporadically attack a ship. If they can sporadically attack ships, then they can keep the pressure on the shipping industries to not transit because they see that it's too dangerous. It's exactly what Tom said. And that bar to do that is relatively low. In other words, a ship blows up one time, or even not necessarily blows up - gets attacked - then they don't want to risk their ships or crews. But they also keep the insurance rates high enough so that it doesn't make economic sense for the shipping companies to use it.

What the U.S. has been doing on the other side, though, is providing this alternate route that's close to the Omani coast that they can better protect. And they've been relatively successful, except in the last few days, with getting a good number of ships through there. They've been mostly the national oil carriers of the Gulf nations that are there that are doing it 'cause they're self-insured. So that's how that's playing out. I think the things that we have to watch now is how this thing plays out relative to time. And I don't know that we have a crystal ball on who can - you know, how quickly the U.S. can degrade the capability and Iran's determination to continue to hold out and accept that economic pressure internally.

MARTÍNEZ: One more thing, Vice Admiral. Will the U.S. start to have to escort ships through the strait?

DONEGAN: Well, escorting ships through the strait is a pretty tough thing to do, given the current situation. As the U.S. further degrades the Iranians' capability to shoot these missiles, then I can think you see something like that come into play where more direct escorts are - and escorts in the straits are used more than they are currently. Right now it's air cover - airplanes, drones, intelligence, and ships - that are in the vicinity there doing the work.

MARTÍNEZ: And one quickly. Could this become a larger security risk if this keeps going on?

DONEGAN: Well, I think it's as - you know, it's as - we're seeing the impact pretty largely right now in the global, you know, economy, you know, shipping economy. So we'll...

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.

DONEGAN: ...Have to see. I don't know that it can get bigger, but I think it can endure.

MARTÍNEZ: Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, former commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, thank you.

Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Read the full story at NPR ↗

Can the U.S. control the Strait of Hormuz? NPR's A Martínez asks retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, who commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces in the…

This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.

Can the U.S. control the Strait of Hormuz? NPR's A Martínez asks retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, who commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East.

Transcript

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Let's go now to retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan. About a decade ago, he commanded the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and the 32-nation Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. He's now with the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes ties with Gulf countries. Vice Admiral, what would it take for the United States to fully control the Strait of Hormuz?

KEVIN DONEGAN: Well, I think Tom did a good job laying that out, A. The thing that's needed is time to continue doing what they're doing now with these strikes. I don't know that that's the objective right now, though, of the U.S. I think their objective is to show Iran that they can do that. And so these focused, now four going to five days of strikes that we've - that we're doing or that the U.S. has been doing is strictly focused on degrading their capabilities in the Straits of Hormuz and their missile and drone capability to attack ships. So we'll see how that plays out.

Both sides, both the U.S. and Iran, are going to be looking at the clock. And that clock is an economic clock. For the U.S., it's, you know, price of oil, and for the world, it's price of energy, etc. But for Iran, the U.S. just implemented their blockade of all goods coming and going from Iran via the sea, which we had stopped when the MOU first was put in place.

MARTÍNEZ: Can it be done just with strikes, or eventually would troops have to be on the ground?

DONEGAN: Yeah. That's the question a lot ask. I don't know that this one requires troops on the ground because where would they go? The places that they have the capability to launch missiles from and drones from and do some of the things they're doing are relatively dispersed. So the U.S. has been very focused, though, on that in the last few days. They've spent the whole time this MOU, and even before that has been in effect, really drilling in with their intelligence.

So I think what we're seeing is that, yes, the Iranian capabilities are being degraded. It may be a little bit nuanced in the press reporting, and they are going down. So you're seeing the Iranians reaching out and trying to attack the Gulf states with a lot less effect because those states have upped their defenses, but they have been able to hit these softer targets that are away from where some of the U.S. has their protection for these ships. They're hitting some of these ships out in the Gulf of Oman and in places that potentially don't have as much direct protection. And it doesn't take much to disrupt the shipping enough so that the insurance rates stay high, and then those don't use the straits.

MARTÍNEZ: We've heard a few times that Iran can effectively control the Strait of Hormuz at will - shut down the Strait of Hormuz at will. Why would they be able to do that? What about them makes them able to do that?

DONEGAN: Yeah. So what - well, first, I don't know that they want to shut it down. They want to control it, so let's just talk about that for a second. So that control really is their ability to sporadically attack a ship. If they can sporadically attack ships, then they can keep the pressure on the shipping industries to not transit because they see that it's too dangerous. It's exactly what Tom said. And that bar to do that is relatively low. In other words, a ship blows up one time, or even not necessarily blows up - gets attacked - then they don't want to risk their ships or crews. But they also keep the insurance rates high enough so that it doesn't make economic sense for the shipping companies to use it.

What the U.S. has been doing on the other side, though, is providing this alternate route that's close to the Omani coast that they can better protect. And they've been relatively successful, except in the last few days, with getting a good number of ships through there. They've been mostly the national oil carriers of the Gulf nations that are there that are doing it 'cause they're self-insured. So that's how that's playing out. I think the things that we have to watch now is how this thing plays out relative to time. And I don't know that we have a crystal ball on who can - you know, how quickly the U.S. can degrade the capability and Iran's determination to continue to hold out and accept that economic pressure internally.

MARTÍNEZ: One more thing, Vice Admiral. Will the U.S. start to have to escort ships through the strait?

DONEGAN: Well, escorting ships through the strait is a pretty tough thing to do, given the current situation. As the U.S. further degrades the Iranians' capability to shoot these missiles, then I can think you see something like that come into play where more direct escorts are - and escorts in the straits are used more than they are currently. Right now it's air cover - airplanes, drones, intelligence, and ships - that are in the vicinity there doing the work.

MARTÍNEZ: And one quickly. Could this become a larger security risk if this keeps going on?

DONEGAN: Well, I think it's as - you know, it's as - we're seeing the impact pretty largely right now in the global, you know, economy, you know, shipping economy. So we'll...

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.

DONEGAN: ...Have to see. I don't know that it can get bigger, but I think it can endure.

MARTÍNEZ: Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, former commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, thank you.

Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Read the full story at NPR ↗

Can the U.S. control the Strait of Hormuz? NPR's A Martínez asks retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, who commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East.

Transcript

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Let's go now to retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan. About a decade ago, he commanded the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and the 32-nation Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East. He's now with the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes ties with Gulf countries. Vice Admiral, what would it take for the United States to fully control the Strait of Hormuz?

KEVIN DONEGAN: Well, I think Tom did a good job laying that out, A. The thing that's needed is time to continue doing what they're doing now with these strikes. I don't know that that's the objective right now, though, of the U.S. I think their objective is to show Iran that they can do that. And so these focused, now four going to five days of strikes that we've - that we're doing or that the U.S. has been doing is strictly focused on degrading their capabilities in the Straits of Hormuz and their missile and drone capability to attack ships. So we'll see how that plays out.

Both sides, both the U.S. and Iran, are going to be looking at the clock. And that clock is an economic clock. For the U.S., it's, you know, price of oil, and for the world, it's price of energy, etc. But for Iran, the U.S. just implemented their blockade of all goods coming and going from Iran via the sea, which we had stopped when the MOU first was put in place.

MARTÍNEZ: Can it be done just with strikes, or eventually would troops have to be on the ground?

DONEGAN: Yeah. That's the question a lot ask. I don't know that this one requires troops on the ground because where would they go? The places that they have the capability to launch missiles from and drones from and do some of the things they're doing are relatively dispersed. So the U.S. has been very focused, though, on that in the last few days. They've spent the whole time this MOU, and even before that has been in effect, really drilling in with their intelligence.

So I think what we're seeing is that, yes, the Iranian capabilities are being degraded. It may be a little bit nuanced in the press reporting, and they are going down. So you're seeing the Iranians reaching out and trying to attack the Gulf states with a lot less effect because those states have upped their defenses, but they have been able to hit these softer targets that are away from where some of the U.S. has their protection for these ships. They're hitting some of these ships out in the Gulf of Oman and in places that potentially don't have as much direct protection. And it doesn't take much to disrupt the shipping enough so that the insurance rates stay high, and then those don't use the straits.

MARTÍNEZ: We've heard a few times that Iran can effectively control the Strait of Hormuz at will - shut down the Strait of Hormuz at will. Why would they be able to do that? What about them makes them able to do that?

DONEGAN: Yeah. So what - well, first, I don't know that they want to shut it down. They want to control it, so let's just talk about that for a second. So that control really is their ability to sporadically attack a ship. If they can sporadically attack ships, then they can keep the pressure on the shipping industries to not transit because they see that it's too dangerous. It's exactly what Tom said. And that bar to do that is relatively low. In other words, a ship blows up one time, or even not necessarily blows up - gets attacked - then they don't want to risk their ships or crews. But they also keep the insurance rates high enough so that it doesn't make economic sense for the shipping companies to use it.

What the U.S. has been doing on the other side, though, is providing this alternate route that's close to the Omani coast that they can better protect. And they've been relatively successful, except in the last few days, with getting a good number of ships through there. They've been mostly the national oil carriers of the Gulf nations that are there that are doing it 'cause they're self-insured. So that's how that's playing out. I think the things that we have to watch now is how this thing plays out relative to time. And I don't know that we have a crystal ball on who can - you know, how quickly the U.S. can degrade the capability and Iran's determination to continue to hold out and accept that economic pressure internally.

MARTÍNEZ: One more thing, Vice Admiral. Will the U.S. start to have to escort ships through the strait?

DONEGAN: Well, escorting ships through the strait is a pretty tough thing to do, given the current situation. As the U.S. further degrades the Iranians' capability to shoot these missiles, then I can think you see something like that come into play where more direct escorts are - and escorts in the straits are used more than they are currently. Right now it's air cover - airplanes, drones, intelligence, and ships - that are in the vicinity there doing the work.

MARTÍNEZ: And one quickly. Could this become a larger security risk if this keeps going on?

DONEGAN: Well, I think it's as - you know, it's as - we're seeing the impact pretty largely right now in the global, you know, economy, you know, shipping economy. So we'll...

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.

DONEGAN: ...Have to see. I don't know that it can get bigger, but I think it can endure.

MARTÍNEZ: Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, former commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, thank you.

Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Read the full story at NPR ↗

This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.

• control the Strait of Hormuz?
• NPR's A Martínez asks retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, who commanded the Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces in the…