No. of Recommendations: 3
As I thought. No ships in or out of Iranian ports. If they want to play around with mines, well...we have them also. And ours are much better.
https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2043432050921718194U.S. to Blockade Ships Entering or Exiting Iranian Ports
TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation.
The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade. All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.For those of you who think the Chinese are siting there laughing at us and aren't calling up Tehran by the hour, consider this: The Chinese buy 80% of Iran's oil.
Now they can buy 0%.
No. of Recommendations: 4
There are ~12 fully filled Iranian tankers being used as floating storage in the Gulf of Oman.
Let's go round them up.
No. of Recommendations: 1
There are ~12 fully filled Iranian tankers being used as floating storage in the Gulf of Oman.
Let's go round them up.
Are they anchored?
Are they surrounded by Iranian mines?
They could also be *deliberately* anchored where the drones/missiles/etc have been aimed.
Ah, but what are a few ships and personnel to YOU? EXPENDABLE.
No. of Recommendations: 13
For those of you who think the Chinese are siting there laughing at us and aren't calling up Tehran by the hour, consider this: The Chinese buy 80% of Iran's oil.
Now they can buy 0%.
That seems the wrong percentage to focus on. The Iranian oil accounts for about 10% of China’s seaborne oil imports. (A smaller percent of total imports.) A 10% shortfall is bad but not catastrophic. (You’ll remember when OPEC stopped selling to us it was about 35% of our imports. And while it was very disruptive it didn’t end life in the country.
It will be tough for Iran to lose the revenue, surely, but again that would take time to manifest. It’s not as though the pain is going to be significant by Tuesday. This is a “siege” tactic, and sieges take time. Meanwhile US oil markets and the stock market will continue to be affected, so in this weird case it’s a siege that has the potential to work both ways: the suffering of the Iranian people vs Trump’s ability to withstand the pain of the market tanking. Given my knowledge of how the Iranian leadership thinks and how Trump thinks, you might guess which I think will give first.
I admit to not understanding the tactic: “If you won’t open the Strait, then we’re gonna close the Strait”. It surely is unconventional, but it seems fraught.
