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House Republican says he doesn’t think ground troops will be needed to open the Strait of Hormuz

by Ashleigh Fields - 04/05/26 4:44 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 04/05/26 4:44 PM ET

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Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on Sunday said he doesn’t think a ground invasion will be needed to open the Strait of Hormuz as the critical choke point has remained closed for more than a month.

Iran has planted mines in the waterway and threatened to shoot any “enemy” ships attempting to travel through, effectively halting international oil transports from the region.

When asked during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” whether troops will be required to reopen the choke point, Turner said, “I don’t believe so. I think that certainly that this is going to be, again, a diminishing regime.”

The decision to shut down the strait sent crude oil prices soaring to $112 as of Sunday and struck Asian countries particularly hard.

On Sunday, President Trump said Iran has until Tuesday to open the strait to commercial vessels or face the wrath of bombs on energy infrastructure and other sites.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

The president also told The Hill he wouldn’t rule out sending ground troops to the country.

“If they were smart, they would make a deal,” he told The Hill.

Turner says he supports striking Iran until the passageway connecting the Gulf to the Indian Ocean is safely restored.

“The straits are going to be open. And it’s — and it certainly is important to occur. But you can’t say, well, as long as the straits are open, we don’t — we can’t let them continue to be a power that marches toward being a nuclear power that continues to develop missile technology that can threaten the United States and threaten Europe and continue to perfect long-range missile technology,” Turner told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

“You have to be able to address this, you know, great sponsor of terrorism, this — the global power ambition that Iran has,” he added.

In the midst of negotiations, Tehran’s leaders have held firm to their five conditions for ending the war, which include maintaining complete control over the critical choke point.

Other demands include a payment of war damages and reparations, the ending of the war across all fronts involving all resistance groups and an assurance that U.S. strikes on Iran will not reoccur in the near future.

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