Trump has a labyrinth of bad options in the Strait of Hormuz. Here’s why some warn that walking away could transcend ‘our defeat in Vietnam’

As Donald Trump searches for an exit from the Iran war, the narrow Strait of Hormuz increasingly looks like a labyrinth in which the commander-in-chief has no good options. 

Any ceasefire or U.S. disengagement that cedes control of the strait risks creating new problems, including potentially triggering a nuclear arms race among Gulf states, experts say. But taking control of the strait militarily requires massive costs and risks, including a strategic invasion that comes short of occupying the country. Trump said March 31 he wants to leave Iran in two or three weeks, hours after he vented against allies to “go get your own oil!”

Continuing with the status quo, meanwhile—in which the U.S. and Israel pound Iranian targets, while Iran charges multimillion-dollar tolls to let select ships pass through the strait—could send the global economy into a recession.

“If this goes on for another two months, we’re in a global recession. There’s no way around it,” Jim Wicklund, a veteran oil analyst and managing director at the PPHB energy investment firm, told Fortune, arguing the U.S. is staring down the barrel of a credit crash and sky-high inflation. 

Even a slight opening of the strait would bring only temporary relief. Oil and natural gas prices may fall as more traffic flows through the strait, but they would remain much higher than in February before the U.S. and Israel initiated the war, especially if Iran continues to charge a ...