A Chinese ship just ran the US Hormuz blockade: 'This is a scary moment'
One idiotic decision after another.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Donald Trump's war on Iran has brought numerous spiraling consequences, the most devastating of which was Iran's decision to block American allies from the Strait of Hormuz in response, which has sent gas prices skyrocketing and raised the specter of recession. Not to be outdone, Trump then declared that the United States would blockade the Strait to prevent any ships doing business with Iran from passing through.
This raised a number of questions from experts. While Trump had asserted that he would block "any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," many wondered, would that include Chinese or Russian vessels? And how would that exacerbate the situation?
Then on Tuesday morning, the first ship managed to pass through the American blockade. The ship — while flying a Malawi flag — is not only operated by China, but was already under U.S. sanctions for shipping Iranian oil in the past.
"Trump's blockade is getting an immediate test," said respected war strategy expert Phillips O'Brien. "A Chinese tanker has cleared the Strait of Hormuz. Will the US seize it? If the US does, is that an act of war? If it doesn't, does the blockade collapse? This is a scary moment."
When Trump announced the blockade on Sunday, O'Brien wrote that the president had "not fully thought out the implications of his actions and this can work out very differently than intended." At best, ships might decide to press through the blockade, and if successful, prove yet again that U.S. military might is not all it's cracked up to be. At worst, if a Chinese or Russian ship attempted to run the block and was attacked by the U.S., it could presage a disastrous global conflict.
On Tuesday morning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the U.S. escalation "dangerous and irresponsible," with a government spokesperson asserting that the U.S. "has increased its military deployment and adopted targeted blockade actions, which will only intensify contradictions, exacerbate tensions, undermine the already fragile ceasefire situation, and further impact the safety of passage in the strait."
Now, a Chinese ship under U.S. sanctions appears to have made it through, with three more currently in the Strait attempting to do the same. As this story develops, it marks a dangerous moment in the conflict.
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Wake up Congress!
trump will give his friends in the authoritarian club a pass. no need to put his chinese trademarks and business interests at risk ...
Maybe they let it go by due to respect for its age....
The Chinese ship did not run the blockade.
The headline is an exaggeration; not much I can do about that.
But the key point I wish to make is this: What is Trump going to do if a Chinese ship refuses to be blocked? Given China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, they are not going to tolerate this for long.
If Trump backs down, the whole plan turns to shit.
If Trump does not back down, he could bring China into this mess.
To wit, this is yet another stupid move by Trump trying to fix the problems caused by his litany of other stupid moves.
Gee, I wonder why they "exaggerated?'
What is Trump going to do if a Chinese ship refuses to be blocked?
As with every ship leaving the strait, it will be stopped, boarded and if it has Iranian oil turned around. China is not going to do anything about it. If china wants to do somethng to stop it they need only pressure Iran to accept Trump's generous deal.
They're taking dancing lessons with the New York Post?
No, they are looking at the war in political terms. On Monday they called Trump a "warmonger." A day later when he said he was giving Iran time to negotiate they called him "Taco." They live in a 24-hour news cycle in which every incident is twisted to defame the President.
My mistake, they taking shifting lessons with Trump.
It is beyond a mistake. We have approximately 100,000 military personnel in the theatre risking their lives trying to prevent Iran from achieving its goals and wishing for failure is basically treason.
Yes, yes ... for the nth time you have bought into wmds.
The same reason you exaggerate Trump's rare successes and downplay/ignore his many failures.
You do not know what China would do. Trump has created a situation of tension due to his series of stupid moves.
Trump defames himself more than any PotUS I have ever seen.
Their nuclear capabilities were 'obliterated' last year. And if that was a lie (likely), then a proper move would be to complete that job. Trump, however, started a war with the objective (it would seem) of regime change and has blundered into a worldwide economic crisis.
And you continue to try to defend this fool.
War is political, maybe they've read Clausewitz, Negri or Alliez instead of such vapidities as The Art of the Steal by TACO the troll.
Has China done anything?
Apparently, you missed that my point is about potential.
The fact that China has not yet done anything is irrelevant. Trump is creating the conditions that raise the potential for a conflict with China.
Since you missed the point entirely, here are some examples of the principle:
See?
Wishing for failure is NOT treason.
Considering some of the traitor accusations the left have been throwing around for the last 10 or so years, wishing for failure IS treaason.
When someone, including a PotUS, is doing something bad for the nation, it is patriotic to wish for him to fail in that wrong endeavor.
The story you posted is an outright lie. The ship was turned around and sent back. China dared not make a move and now Iran is facing economic catastrophy.
It the seed's author got the facts wrong, that is not me lying; I was not there. It is not even the author necessarily lying since several sources reported this.
The point I have made, however, remains quite valid:
What is Trump going to do if a Chinese ship refuses to be blocked? Given China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, they are not going to tolerate this for long.
If Trump backs down, the whole plan turns to shit.
If Trump does not back down, he could bring China into this mess.
To wit, this is yet another stupid move by Trump trying to fix the problems caused by his litany of other stupid moves.
But I never said you lied. I said the story you posted was a lie. You must know that we have members, now a majority in fact, who believe such stuff. As I recall we had a former member stake everything on a McClatchy Report that made a claim that Michael Cohen was in Prague. Remember that? So, we do have to be careful what we post.
The point I have made, however, remains quite valid:
What is Trump going to do if a Chinese ship refuses to be blocked? Given China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, they are not going to tolerate this for long.
China has already answered that question. Evidently, they aren't going to try anything militarily, most likely because Trump gave then a good look at what the US military is capable of and via his "madman act" a good look at what he is capable of.
It appears that China will do 2 things. 1) is to try and pressure Iran into a deal, but that won't be easy because the regime is all hard-core ideologues who are very straight forward about wanting to develop nuclear weapons to use on Israel and the US. 2) is to have an ambassador warn the US about a possible world-wide recession. That's been about it, unless you think they are holding back on a response as their tankers sit at anchor.
If Trump backs down, the whole plan turns to shit.
If Trump does not back down, he could bring China into this mess.
To wit, this is yet another stupid move by Trump trying to fix the problems caused by his litany of other stupid moves.
The final move has been made. It was always recommended by business leaders btw.
Have a good dat.
No they have not! They have not acted yet, but you cannot claim that they never will:
What is Trump going to do if a Chinese ship refuses to be blocked? Given China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, they are not going to tolerate this for long.
That is idiotic; the predicament continues thus potential actions continue.
Trump has foolishly created this situation and is damaging the world economy.
What drives you to continue to try to support this buffoon?
Yes, the ship in question is the Rich Starry laden with methanol produced in UAE. And I am convinced that China sent the ship through to 'throw down the gauntlet' so to speak. It was a test to determine just how froggy the US Navy is going to be.
So, why have the markets quieted? Why are oil futures dropping? I can only speculate that the markets are reacting to President Trump having to back down. President Trump was forced to back down from his 'civilization-ending' threats. And now President Trump's blockade is limited to Iranian ports and not the Strait itself. Trump is being checked by more rational heads.
Also keep in mind there is a lot of oil stored in the Persian Gulf. When the Strait does finally open for all shipping traffic there will be a short lived glut of oil on the market. Those trading oil futures don't want to get caught with orders for higher priced oil.
What are you talking about? The whole point is to blockade Iranian ports, not the UAE.
The blockade never had anything to do with the UAE. The desperation to find something, anything, to claim the US is losing is bizarre.
Which I addressed. "And now President Trump's blockade is limited to Iranian ports and not the Strait itself. Trump is being checked by more rational heads." That's another Trump TACO.
Trump announced his own blockade of the Strait stating that no ships would be allowed in or out. Vance backed up Trump's intent. Apparently more rational heads in the US Navy intervened.
"A day into the U.S.-imposed military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, several ships have apparently transited the narrow waterway, including at least two that reportedly had previously stopped at Iranian ports. However, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is pushing back against claims that vessels ran the blockade. As we noted yesterday, CENTCOM said the maritime exclusion operation would be "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."
Navy Turns Around Ships Trying To Run Blockade Of Iran (Updated)
China is Iran's largest oil customer.
it shouldn't take very long for 100 million chinese to dig a trench from iran to china for their new pipeline ...
No need the ESPO (Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean) pipeline carries 700,000 barrels per day.