The brilliance of blocking the Strait of Hormuz

[MsAmerica]

I don't get the feeling that most people appreciate the brilliant move of closing the Strait of Hormuz. None of the news stories I'm seeing say so.

Of course, Iran has made destructive attacks (although all defensive now, I believe). But U.S. and Israel have ONLY attacked, only intent on wreaking damage and directly killing people.

Technically, closing the Strait wasn't a violent act, and hurts no one directly, no matter how disruptive it may otherwise be. Brilliant.

My instinct is that by stopping Chinese and Russian shipping, these countries (major trading partners of Iran for oil and arms) will be pissed off enough to exert pressure on Iran to behave itself. Who knows?!

Iran have played a blinder

usa didnt foresee any of these moves and now don’t want egg on their face

So now Trump is blockading the strait of Hormuz

If Trump and his minions didn't have their heads up their own bottoms they could have worked out this was exactly what Iran would do. What did they think would happen?

Obviously they haven't stopped their allies' vessels. Russian and Chinese vessels have safe passage through the strait.

But now US is blocking the strait

All shipping has been stopped, including Russia and China. Everyone is affected.

The really surprising thing is that it appears Trump hadn’t made any plan for what to do when they blocked the straits . It was an obvious thing to do and had been predicted by many commentators ( including in Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography)

I love that Trump’s initial reaction was “they weren’t supposed to do that” 🤣

Comedy gold in any language

China has responded with typical Chinese subtlety, by posting their spectacular Q1 gains in rare earth minerals. Something the US desperately needs but doesn't have. The WH is full of gung ho bros with zero for brains.

Or the opposite, arm them and end up with a protracted war that ends up like Donbas.

Or even worse we drag China into a war.... basically world war 3 and a war we will lose almost certainly.

I can't cheer wreckless chancers who are playing with the lives of innocent people. They also will destroy the future of some of the planets poorest and damage the prospects of millions.... including ourselves. The effects of this haven't even been felt yet..... inflation on its way is all I can say

We cannot unwind the stupidity of the last few weeks and undo the involvement of Trump being led by the nose by Israel. So we are here now.
If the USA are in charge now, it should be better than having Iran in charge. If they stop oil going to China and Russia those countries might add diplomatic weight to the proceedings.
Vance & co were lacking in diplomatic and negotiating skills. The USA need to learn this. They have to stop playing poker and learn chess.

I've read on a few different sites that a chinese tanker has sailed through today. Obviously no idea if that's true or not.

It is true. The Chinese have very clearly told the US that they will not tolerate any interference.

Let's see how the fat fuck gets out of this one.

Seeing that even an Iranian vessel has now got out, that US blockade is obviously doing its job🙄

The thing is legally a blockade of another countries territorial waters is deemed an act of war. On the other hand Iran has every right to restrict the use of its shipping channels....just the same as we do.

America and Israel are now war criminals, they don't have the right to break the rules. It's interesting that Spain and Belgium are now seizing arm shipments from the UK to Israel. Any ship or plane destined for Israel is now being banned from their air space. France and Italy are likely to follow suit....

It's high time for the UK to ban all arms sales to Israel....I'd go one step further and ban all products made in Israel being sold in Europe.

Maybe, but could just as easily go the other way.

Ah, but Trump fired all the foreign/diplomatic experts and staffed the department with his ignorant, sycophantic yes-men.

One of Trump's many failings is his inability to think ahead, and inability to understand how others might think, or to imagine they wouldn't all immediately grovel.

I didn't know UK was sending arms to Israel - why the fuck is that happening! Good on Spain and Belgium for putting their foot down, I hope the rest of the EU follows.

Well, it’s open again, at least for now, but few ships are confident enough to use it.

China and Russia are putting pressure on Iran.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cqxdg17yr2wt

Just for a tangential snicker, The Treasury Secretary had a slip of the tongue and referred to it as the Strait of Vermouth.

‘Drunk?’: Bessent Visibly Squirms as Reporters Corner Him About Trump — Then Unleashes a Stuttering Spiral That Derails the Entire Briefing

The Treasury Secretary continued his stuttering response, “The U.S. kept their side on the ceasefire. We’ve stopped firing. The ‘Strait of Vermouth’ has not been completely reopened."

https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/04/16/bessent-visibly-squirms-as-reporters-corner-him-about-trump-then-unleashes-a-stuttering-spiral-that-derails-the-entire-briefing/