Anthony Scaramucci has been a vocal Donald Trump critic in the years since his vanishingly short run as communications director during the president's first term, but he thinks he might be making the right move on Iran.
The founder of SkyBridge Capital told Business Insider that while he thinks Trump hasn't executed well on a lot of things during the war, he believes a military blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is the best way for the US to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.
Scaramucci was the White House communications director for 11 days during the first Trump administration. Since then, he's become an active political commentator and influencer, appearing on political podcasts and hosting The Rest is Politics: US.
"We've done a series of wrong things, but blocking the Strait right now, in my opinion, is the correct move," he said.
Economists and market pros, including International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva, say the move is risky for both the US and broader economy. Yet, Scaramucci believes it could help bring a quicker end to the conflict.
"If you put the Strait in a complete lockdown, you're going to have the Iranians are going to be forced to come back to the table," he said, adding that Iran won't be able to handle the hit to the economy created by the blockade.
Scaramucci said, however, that even if the blockade motivates Iran's leaders to reach an agreement with the US, markets won't immediately stabilize, and oil price volatility will persist until the strait is fully reopened.
Still, he sees Trump's latest move as necessary to permanently end the global economic turmoil produced by the war. His view is similar to that of other commentators, such as former JPMorgan chief quant Marko Kolanovic, who argued that Trump should stomach the pain in financial markets to demonstrate he's serious about the US's goals in the war.
"It's going to be a real case study in how a mid level player can take on a superpower," Scaramucci said. "I think his move to shut the Strait makes it harder for them because it impairs them economically."
