Snorkeling in the Strait of Hormuz

Last week, Iran assumed the position it had long threatened to take, that of the troll under the bridge determining which ships can pass into and out of the Persian Gulf. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was throttled down to almost nothing, and the next phase of the war—predictable to anyone who has thought about what a war with Iran might look like, or who has ever looked at a map—became clear. The United States and its Arab allies will try to keep oil and gas flowing out of the gulf, and food and other goods flowing in.