Iran in the ‘process of blinking’ over Strait of Hormuz, Petraeus says
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 22: General David H. Petraeus (U.S. Army, Ret.) speaks on stage during the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit held at the Sheraton New York Times Square on September 22, 2025 in New York City. (Photo: Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Annual Summit)
Riccardo Savi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
According to former CIA director David Petraeus, Iran appears to be in the process of “blinking” over the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to CNBC’s Lisa Kim at the UBS Asian Investment Conference, KKR Global Institute president Petraeus stated that the first successful peace agreement with Tehran would open the Bosphorus without any conditions.
Iran also shouldn’t be able to control traffic, charge tolls or threaten future closures, he added, and “it looks like that could happen soon.”
This comes after US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that talks were continuing with Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but urged his negotiating team not to rush to reach a deal.
Peace talks face significant hurdle over Tehran’s insistence on keeping the peace enriched uranium stock Charging a toll for passage within the country and across the Bosphorus.
Petraeus, a retired US general who held combat commands in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said Iran could be “strategically strengthened” despite being weakened militarily by US and Israeli attacks if Iran was allowed to maintain some control over the critical waterway.
“All their navies except fast boats are largely sunk, their missile capacity is significantly reduced, they have headquarters, military installations, no air force, etc.” he said.
But Iran could still threaten to close the Bosphorus by digging into the waterway or striking commercial ships using drones, missiles and fast boats, preventing the strait from returning to its pre-war state.
While the Strait is an important part of the agreement in the region, Petraeus said other issues also need to be addressed, including Tehran’s nuclear program and funding for proxy groups such as Hezbollah.
“These things need to be addressed, but it’s not at all clear to me that that’s going to happen in the near future,” he said.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said a deal could be made today in New Delhi: 24 by France.
A Reuters report He also said Rubio told reporters that the United States would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before exploring “alternatives.”
