The Art of the Hammer
Kharg as Catalyst, MOU as Pause, and the Path to Enforceable Peace Well, here we are. Just days after President Donald J. Trump’s pointed Truth Social signaling on Kharg Island—the credible threat to seize Iran’s primary oil export terminal and redirect those flows under American leverage—Iran moved. High-level approvals followed. The naval blockade held until the “transaction” advanced. Now we have the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed, with a 60-day window for verification and deeper negotiations. The Strait of Hormuz prospects have brightened. Oil and gas prices have eased. Texas pump prices in competitive spots already sit in the low…