mostafa hail

I genuinely don’t know whether to laugh or lose my mind anymore at this European hypocritical double standards. When it comes to Vladimir Putin, suddenly it’s Churchillian resolve. No compromise. No dialogue. Arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction everything that moves, wreck your own energy security if necessary - because tyranny must be confronted. Fine. I actually respect the consistency of that … in isolation. But then you turn around and lecture us - us - the Gulf monarchies, Jordan and Israel, about showing restraint with Tehran? About dialogue? About coexistence? Are you serious? For forty years - forty bloody years - this regime has been waging a shadow war across the region. Militias, proxies, sleeper cells, terror networks, destabilizing entire countries - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen - and threatening the Gulf monarchies, Jordan, and Israel nonstop. This isn’t theoretical. This isn’t abstract. This is lived reality. And yet here come Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, and the rest of the European choir, gently advising us to calm down, de-escalate, and - what was it again? - “give diplomacy a chance.” Diplomacy with who, exactly? With a system that has built its entire regional strategy on plausible deniability and proxy terror violence? You were willing to absorb inflation, energy shocks, and political backlash at home to confront Moscow. You made that choice. You said: this is the price of standing up to a tyrant. So don’t come here and tell us - after decades of being on the receiving end - that we should just sit down, smile politely, and “coexist.” Either you believe in confronting tyranny everywhere .. or you don’t. Macron, Starmer, rest of EU leaders and top bureaucrats should just STFU and spare us the self righteous sanctimonious lectures!🤐🤫

Blockade halted all sea trade to/from Iran in under 36 hours. 90% of Iran’s economy relies on maritime trade, CENTCOM commander posted on X on Tuesday. "A blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the middle east. An estimated 90% of Iranians economy is fueled by International trade by sea. In less that 36 hours, since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran buy sea, "Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM Commander said.

"Since Iran relies on oil revenue for a sizeable portion of its total government budget, China’s purchases of Iranian oil mean China accounts for about 45 percent of Iran’s total government budget." (US-China Economic and Security Review Commission)

It is remarkable that this blockade has taken effect so quickly, without any response from Iran and, it would seem, with the full compliance of Iranian ships to the point that no seizures or boardings have been necessary.

U.S. naval forces have intercepted eight oil tankers entering or leaving Iranian ports since the start of the blockade, according to a U.S. official -WSJ The ships all complied after being told to reverse course, so no boarding was necessary

European nations are 'putting together a plan for a broad coalition of countries' to facilitate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz 'without the US', according to Wall Street Journal.

Some of the Iran-linked oil / refined products tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz have either stopped or performed U-turns. The blockade, so far, appears effective. Remember, the vessels are not stopped in the middle of the strait, but on the approaches.

More than 10,000 U.S. Sailors, Marines, and Airmen along with over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports. During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman. The blockade is being 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. U.S. forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

This will get tricky as a number of Iran-linked tankers make bogus port calls in Saudi Arabia and Iraq with the help of AIS spoofing. Good luck with that, CENTCOM.