Washington studying military options to reopen Hormuz Strait, sources tell CNN

U.S. military officials are working on new plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the current cease-fire with Iran collapses, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN.

These options include, among various types of targets under consideration, strikes focused in particular on the "dynamic targeting" of Iranian capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.

This includes small fast attack craft, mine-laying vessels, and other assets Iran has used to block that passage. U.S. intelligence assessments estimate that while the United States has succeeded in destroying Iran’s large ships, the Iranian regime still retains about half of its naval capabilities, notably suicide boats.

According to sources cited by CNN, the U.S. military could also carry out President Donald Trump's threat to hit dual-use (civilian and military) targets as well as infrastructure, especially energy infrastructure, or target specific Iranian military commanders and other "disruptive elements" of the regime accused by U.S. officials of actively undermining negotiations. Ahmad Vahidi, the commanding general of the Revolutionary Guards, is among the top targets, according to one source.

The remaining Iranian military capabilities, notably missiles, their launchers, and production facilities not destroyed in the first wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes or that may have been moved to new strategic sites since the start of the cease-fire, are also in the U.S. military’s sights.

Moreover, several sources, including a major maritime industry figure, told CNN that military strikes around the strait alone would likely not be enough to immediately reopen the passage.

Maritime traffic has again come to a halt since Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, as both Tehran and Washington have imposed separate blockades, with Iranian vessels continuing to test the American blockade. Negotiations between the two have still not resumed despite Wednesday's expiration of the two-week cease-fire agreed to at the beginning of the month.

The United States and Israel launched a military offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, starting with the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a series of massive bombings. Tehran responded by bombing Israeli territory and targeting U.S. military bases and other civilian infrastructure in several Gulf countries and the region.