President Donald Trump's former counterterrorism chief Joe Kent is pushing back against the administration's threat of "crushing economic" measures on Iran, arguing that such a move could put American troops directly in the crosshairs. Instead, he's advocating for a different approach: pull the troops out and offer Tehran sanctions relief to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Pull Out US Troops From Middle East

On Wednesday, Kent took to X, responding to a post that shared a screenshot of Trump's Truth Social threat. His message was blunt: if the plan goes ahead, "Iran will respond by striking the troops we have still in the region."

His solution? "Deprive Iran" of that option by pulling troops "out of harm's way instead of leaving them as leverage for Iran to exploit." Once that's done, the U.S. could "offer Iran sanctions relief/unfreezing of assets in exchange for opening the SOH [Strait of Hormuz]." He framed this as the "least destructive" way to clean up the "mess" and "put Americans first."

The stakes are high. The Strait of Hormuz moved roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day in 2025, and uncertainty over its fate has rattled global markets. Trump recently rejected extending the 60-day ceasefire with Iran, keeping tensions simmering. As of this writing, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $84.53 per barrel, while Brent crude traded at $91.90 per barrel.

On the fuel front, the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported the national average diesel price on Wednesday was $5.5042 per gallon, up from Tuesday's $5.4677. Gasoline averaged $4.0860 per gallon.

Iran Has Partially Lost Strait of Hormuz

Kent's comments come as analysts see the U.S. gaining the upper hand in the strait, which has been a central point of contention. Iran has been demanding a 5%-7% toll on ships passing through, but analysts now say, "It increasingly looks like Iran has at least partially lost control of the strait."

Meanwhile, reports suggest Iran might be eyeing U.S. targets in Europe. The Iranian military is reportedly assessing the feasibility of striking a U.S. base in Bulgaria, with Cyprus also emerging as a possible option.

Trump has previously declared the Strait of Hormuz belongs to the U.S., a claim Iran's Security Chief, Mohsen Rezaee, mocked by pointing out the distance between the waterway and Washington DC. Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), which oversees traffic in the waterway, has also pushed back against Trump's assertions.