Tehran views control over the vital waterway as a non-negotiable strategic priority, signaling a willingness to sustain prolonged military escalation rather than yield its authority over commercial shipping. Military pressure has proven ineffective at curbing the harassment of vessels that bypass Tehran’s designated transit corridors. Intelligence reports indicate that Iran is rapidly regenerating its combat capacity, having already restored significant portions of its coastal radar network and recovered over half of its pre-war missile inventory. While Washington and regional Gulf states continue to reject Iran’s demands to formalize its control over the strait, the cycle of tactical strikes and retaliatory fire shows no sign of abating.