Iran's spectacular resilience, perceptually at least, has redefined Middle Eastern security calculus. And without stretching it too far, a humbled US is happy with Iran checkmating a berserk, out of control and arrogantly unthankful Israel – a pariah complicit in murderous ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. However, as I have repeatedly asserted, Tehran's consequent advantage is temporary and transient. And Iran's accrued gains are negatively relevant. Therefore, the Islamic regime needs to recalibrate and re-orient.

Firstly, the Strait of Hormuz (SoH). To quote from elsewhere, 'Iran leveraged [its] geography to irk and pique the World as a tool of coercive diplomacy.' The world, with the exception of Pakistan, did not come to rescue Iran as it expected. And the international outcry was due to Tehran holding the world economy by the neck. The negativity and temporariness of this newfound relevance should not be lost on Iranian decision-makers.

Theoretically speaking, even if Oman-Iran joint sovereignty over SoH is internationally accepted (unlikely), its benefit in terms of shipping and passage clout, international influence and levies/taxes in whatever form, will be little and not worth the cost Tehran and Muscat will pay in International Relations. The around 22 million barrels per day of oil that flows through SoH constitute around 85% petroleum needs of Asia (China, South Korea, Japan, India, etc). The strait's closure negligibly affects Israel and the oil-exporting US.

Leaving this huge slab (85% or so) untaxed due to friendly ties and other dependencies on these nations provides negligible financial advantage to Tehran. And taxing this slab invites........

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