If Iran tries to close this strait crucial to the oil trade, the US Navy can unblock it quickly —...

I doubt they’d be that stupid to do it, but this is Iran and I put nothing past them provided we’re not sending RIBs with bad equipment. Iran makes money off this mess, so to make your cash run low only hurts you in the long run, and if the place is flooded with an armada of various countries warships, Iran wouldn’t dare act up. That would be just the opening the US would use to justify (rightfully so) to bring metric assloads of pain their way. I’m sure the Iranian leaders won’t have to wait as long as Saddam to meet the gallows either