>Hormuz is mostly open last I checked. Iran is shouting, but ships are getting through again.

Hormuz isn't open. Any traffic going through is a small fraction compared to before the war. The US can't even operate close to the Iranian shore for fear of anti ship missiles.

> the US has made the choice to not escalate farther,

They can't escalate further or they would. They can't even hold their bases or protect the countries they are supposed to. What power, short of a nuke, are they holding back on?