U.S. Politics

[John Corbett]

Not sure if the “blockade” description is reverse psychology or if it means blockading the coastline of Iran so there’s no chance of the fanatic death cult version Islamic regime  ( the false one) being able to mine the waters.

Maybe the new mission should be renamed “SafeGuard” the strait to allow all merchants ships safe passage with aid of US Navy escort ships. This could be a joint venture  with Russia, China, France , Britain and the oil from that special island can be distributed by US at bargain prices once the island is occupied and under control of the US Marines.

The only problem with that is once we seize Kharg Island, the Iranians would stop pumping their oil to it. It would have only a short term effect on the supply of oil.

I don't think destroying Kharg Island would useful either.  3/4 of the oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz is Iranian oil, so destroying that island would have almost the same long term effect on world oil supply as the current closing of the strait. The solution is to open the strait so everyone's oil can get through.

[John Corbett]

Trump's plan seems to be working. The Iranians have cried uncle. They have agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz. They didn't have much choice. Their economy was already on the verge of collapse and Trump's blockade was costing them almost a half a billion dollars a day. They couldn't let that go on much longer. When the final deal is reached it is going to be on our terms not Iran's. Part of the art of the deal is knowing how and when to put the squeeze on. Trump proved the adage, "When you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.". When the final deal is reached it is going to be on our terms, not Iran's.

Oil has dropped to $80 a barrel and will likely dip even further.
The DOW was up over 1000 earlier in the day but has pulled back to around 900.
The other indices are making similar gains.

[Michael Capasse]

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on social media: "The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.

[John Corbett]

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on social media: "The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.

The Iranians always say one thing publicly and another thing privately. They know they will keep losing a half a billion dollars a day if they don't agree to Trump's terms. They can only store about 2 weeks worth of oil, after which they would have to shut down production. They have already opened the Strait of Hormuz which was the only leverage they had. If they don't sign the deal, Trump will introduce them to the Stone Age.

[Michael Capasse]

The Iranians always say one thing publicly and another thing privately. They know they will keep losing a half a billion dollars a day if they don't agree to Trump's terms. They can only store about 2 weeks worth of oil, after which they would have to shut down production. They have already opened the Strait of Hormuz which was the only leverage they had. If they don't sign the deal, Trump will introduce them to the Stone Age.

The strait is not open and threatening war crimes will not get the us out of this disaster of his own making.

[John Corbett]

The strait is not open and threatening war crimes will not get the us out of this disaster of his own making.

The Iranians announced yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz is open. So far there has only been a trickle of ships passing through. If's understandable why the captains of the ships might be reluctant to be among the first to test the waters, but there have been no attacks on the ones that have passed through.
Meanwhile, the site maps continue to show Iranian ships bottled up around Kharg Island. They won't be allowed to pass until Iran signs the peace deal on Trump's terms.

[Michael Capasse]

The Iranians announced yesterday that the Strait of Hormuz is open. So far there has only been a trickle of ships passing through. If's understandable why the captains of the ships might be reluctant to be among the first to test the waters, but there have been no attacks on the ones that have passed through.
Meanwhile, the site maps continue to show Iranian ships bottled up around Kharg Island. They won't be allowed to pass until Iran signs the peace deal on Trump's terms.

...then announced this morning it was closed.