Strait of Hormuz: Cold War Nuclear Channel Plan Revealed by U.S. Archives

Decades before Newt Gingrich reignited debate with a provocative social media post, U.S. military strategists seriously considered detonating nuclear devices to carve a wider channel through the Strait of Hormuz. The revelation, buried in declassified documents from the 1960s, exposes how geopolitical chokepoints once triggered extreme engineering proposals during the Cold War. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil transits daily, has long been a flashpoint for international tensions. In the 1960s, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and military planners explored the feasibility of using thermonuclear excavation—a concept tied to Project Plowshare—to blast a deeper, wider shipping lane. The classified studies concluded the idea was technically possible but strategically and environmentally catastrophic. Gingrich’s recent remarks, while framed as a hypothetical solution to Iranian threats, revived scrutiny of these archival plans. Analysts note the Strait’s strategic importance has only intensified, with Iran repeatedly threatening to close the passage during escalations. While the nuclear channel concept was never pursued, its reemergence in public discourse underscores how historical military thinking can resurface in modern geopolitical rhetoric. Experts warn that any real-world attempt to alter the Strait’s geography today would trigger immediate global condemnation and potential military retaliation.

Dispatch from Vance Sterling (Crisis & Global Conflict Director).