If Iran actually starts deploying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, we are going to see a gigantic wave of panic sweep through global financial markets. At this moment, any commercial vessels that attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormuz are sitting ducks for Iranian drones and missiles. That is why traffic through the Strait has essentially been paralyzed, and this has created the largest oil supply disruption in human history. Yes, a few ships are still getting through, but if the Iranians deploy thousands of highly sophisticated naval mines the entire Persian Gulf will be on lockdown for the foreseeable future. If you wanted to create an unprecedented global crisis, that would be a great way to do it.
According to CBS News, U.S. intelligence officials have disclosed that they have “begun seeing indications that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz”…
U.S. intelligence has begun seeing indications that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, CBS News reported Tuesday in a post on X.
The report comes as the United States warns that shipping through the strategic waterway has been disrupted during the war with Iran.
Apparently these mines would be deployed by very small vessels, and we are being told that Iran has a very large stockpile…
U.S. intelligence assets have begun to see indications Iran is taking steps to deploy mines in Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Iran is using smaller crafts that can carry 2 to 3 mines each. While Iran’s mine stock isn’t publicly known, estimates over the years have ranged from roughly 2,000 to 6,000 naval mines of Iranian, Chinese and Russian-made variants,
@JimLaPorta reports
Let’s hope that Iran chooses not to do this, because it would represent a massive escalation.
Alarmingly, the IRGC is declaring that it will not allow any oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz at all if the U.S. and Israel continue their attacks…
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it would not allow any oil to leave the region if attacks from the United States and Israel continue.
‘We are the ones who will determine the end of the war,’ a spokesperson said, describing Trump’s comments as ‘nonsense’, according to state media.
In response, President Trump is threatening to hit Iran twenty times harder than they have been hit so far…
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump warned. “Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
“This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait. Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated,” he added.
We have reached another major tipping point.
It will be fascinating to see what happens next.
On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed that the U.S. Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, and that sent oil prices plummeting. But it has since turned out that his tweet was not accurate at all…
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. has not yet escorted any oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, contrary to a since-deleted tweet from Energy Secretary Chris Wright. But, the U.S. Navy stands ready to do so if necessary, she said.
“I was made aware of this post,” Leavitt said during her press briefing. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to the energy secretary about it directly. However, I know the post was taken down pretty quickly, and I can confirm that the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time, though of course that’s an option the president has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary at the appropriate time.”
Any U.S. warships that attempt to go through the Strait of Hormuz would be sitting ducks.
The Strait of Hormuz is very thin, so there would be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
And right now the Iranians still have full control over that absolutely vital waterway.
Meanwhile, the Iranians continue to target energy infrastructure all over the region.
On Tuesday, an attack by Iranian drones shut down the largest oil refinery in the Middle East…
Iranian drones struck Ruwais oil refinery, causing a fire and forcing its closure as a ‘precaution’ on Tuesday.
The facility, the largest in the Middle East, can process 922,000 barrels a day and acts as a hub for the country’s chemical, fertilizer and industrial gas plants.
‘The Ruwais refinery has halted operations out of precaution,’ a source said.
Of course the U.S. and Israel have been hitting energy infrastructure as well, and this has created quite an environmental mess.
It has been widely reported that black rain has been falling in Tehran, and the WHO is warning that this black rain could have very serious health consequences…
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the “black rain” and toxic compounds in the air in Iran after strikes on oil facilities could cause respiratory problems, and it backed Iran’s advisory urging people to remain indoors.
The U.N. health agency, which has an office in Iran and works with authorities on health emergencies, said it has received multiple reports of oil-laden rain this week. Tehran was choked in black smoke on Monday after an oil refinery was hit, in an escalation in strikes on Iran’s domestic energy supplies as part of the U.S.-Israeli campaign.
“The black rain and the acidic rain coming with it is indeed a danger for the population, respiratory mainly,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva, adding that Iran had advised people to stay indoors.
Even if the war ended tomorrow, the damage that has been done to energy infrastructure in the Middle East would take many months to repair.
I don’t think that the financial markets have fully taken this into account yet.
Sadly, it is unlikely that the war will end any time soon.
In fact, there is lots of talk in Washington that President Trump may soon send U.S. troops to take control of Kharg Island…
An island one-third the size of Manhattan controls virtually all Iranian crude oil exports — and experts say its fate could be essential to President Trump’s endgame with Tehran.
Kharg Island is located about 16 miles off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf, making it difficult to defend and easier to isolate — reportedly drawing the attention of administration planners.
“Kharg Island handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports. Take it out, and this means cutting off the military budget in addition to pulling the plug on the basic services that keep Iranian society functioning,” said Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the DC-based Middle East Institute.
Seizing Kharg Island would reduce Iran’s oil exports by about 90 percent, and that would cripple the regime’s ability to keep operating.
But it would also be an enormous escalation, because now U.S. ground troops would be directly involved.
We have entered such a dangerous time.
I fully expect that we will witness some absolutely breathtaking escalations in the days ahead, and I don’t think that the world is ready for what is coming next.
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