The Iranian Goat: The Iranian trap into which Washington continues to fall

In Middle Eastern folklore, there are two brilliant stories dealing with the art of deception and extortion: the parable of the goat and the parable of Juha's nail.

The first tells of a man complaining about crowding in his house. A wise man suggested he bring a goat inside. The house became an unbearable hell of noise and stench. When the wise man finally allowed him to remove the goat, the owner felt immense relief, even though the baseline situation had not changed.

The second story tells of the cunning Juha, who sold his house but insisted on retaining ownership of one nail on the central wall. He used this "nail" as a pretext to enter the house at any time, making the buyer's life miserable until he was forced to abandon the property.

Tehran has brilliantly and lethally combined these two parables in its strategy, and Washington has fallen straight into the trap.

The American mistake: double payment to Tehran

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a quarter of the world's maritime oil consumption passes, has turned from an international shipping lane into Tehran's main arena of extortion.

First, Iran drove "Juha's nail" into the strait: it established a threatening presence and made threats an inseparable part of the regional balance. Then, to peak the pressure, it brought in the "goat": striking civilian tankers and creating economic anxiety. By negotiating navigation conditions, Washington is paying heavy strategic concessions—easing sanctions and compromising on the nuclear file—just for Iran to "take the goat out." This is a double payment: paying for the removal of an artificial nuisance while leaving the "nail" in Tehran's hands.

Freedom of navigation is not a subject for bargaining

International maritime law establishes that the right to "transit passage" is absolute and non-conditional. When the US includes navigation in political discussions, it turns a fundamental norm into a "commercial asset" to be traded.

The practical way: how to enforce in practice?

Disconnecting political discussion from maritime law enforcement requires three mechanisms:

A diplomatic "firewall": Washington must remove the Strait of Hormuz from political negotiations, transferring management to a multinational maritime forum (such as the CMF).
Hybrid enforcement: Transitioning to technologically protected convoys and applying legal "counter-enforcement," such as seizing "shadow fleet" tankers in response to violations.
An energy safety net: Activating state insurance guarantees for tankers and utilizing international emergency oil reserves to absorb market anxiety.

Middle Eastern history proves that surrendering to extortion only increases the extortionist's appetite. The US must stop paying for the Iranian "goat" and stop recognizing Juha's "nail."

Prof. Mohammad Wattad, President of the Ramat Gan Academic College, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the INSS