Iran Threatens Any Ships Passing Through Strait Of Hormuz
Iran Threatens Retaliation Against Ships Passing Through Strait Of Hormuz
As we pass the 60-day mark of the war in Iran, it’s become abundantly clear that this is not going to end anytime soon. One of the focal points of the conflict has been the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil and fertilizer supply passes. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that U.S. military ships would escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, though the Iranian military quickly warned that any attempt to enter the port would be met with military force.
Don’t you just love how smoothly this four-week war has been going?
AP reports that Trump announced “Project Freedom” in a Truth Social post on Sunday. Trump wrote that “neutral and innocent” countries have been impacted by the war and “we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.” U.S. Central Command told AP that the plan would involve 100 aircraft, 15,000 service members, and several guided-missile destroyers, though the Pentagon declined to explain how they would be deployed and what, exactly, they’d be doing.
According to the Washington Post, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters, issued a statement warning “all commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any attempt to transit without coordination with the armed forces.”
“We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive U.S. military, if they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be targeted and attacked,” Abdollahi added. As a result of Abdollahi’s threats, several shipping companies told the New York Times that they’re reluctant to send ships through the strait.
“There is much uncertainty around what Project Freedom means in practice, but any plans put in place must be done in a coordinated and transparent manner,” Tom Bartosak-Harlow, a spokesman for the maritime trade group, International Chamber of Shipping, said in a statement.
Jakob P. Larsen, the chief safety and security officer of the Baltic and International Maritime Council, told the Times that “It is unclear whether Project Freedom is sustainable in the longer run or whether it will be a limited operation to get some of the trapped ships out.”
It’s been hard to estimate how close the Strait of Hormuz is to reopening. Despite Iran and the U.S. agreeing to a ceasefire last month, the passageway remained under an Iranian blockade.
President Donald Trump responded by ordering a blockade around the blockade, because nothing projects strength quite like putting a hat on a hat.
Iran temporarily announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened in mid-April, but that didn’t really happen because the U.S. blockade remained. Iran submitted a new, 14-point peace proposal this weekend, though Trump has signaled that he will reject it.
Even in the unlikely scenario that the war were to end this week, the ripple effects of the conflict in Iran are still going to be felt in the immediate future. We’ve already seen Spirit Airlines close as a result of rising fuel prices only exacerbating their preexisting woes. While NewsOne writer Zack Linly perfectly summed up Spirit as the “Waffle House of the friendly skies,” its closure means 17,000 people are now out of work. Experts have said that the possibility of a global recession will increase the longer the conflict in Iran continues.
Domestically, folks are already feeling the impact of the Iran war, with prices increasing from the gas pump to the grocery store. But don’t worry! Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thinks that you should be OK paying those prices because of freedom or something.
The longer the war in Iran continues, the clearer it becomes that neither Trump nor Hegseth actually has a plan to get us out of the mess they created.
SEE ALSO:
Trump Issues ‘Shoot And Kill’ Order For Mining Boats In Strait Of Hormuz
Strait Of Hormuz Still At Standstill Despite Ceasefire
The Strait Of Hormuz Is Kinda Sorta Open: Let Me Explain
Iran Threatens Retaliation Against Ships Passing Through Strait Of Hormuz was originally published on newsone.com
