Iran Super Thread- Merged

[CBH99]

Oh the geopolitics of it all...interesting times indeed!

...

By the way, I haven't seen this posted here yet. But what the actual f**k is this??

 

[ytz]

Trump is supposed to travel to China for a bilateral summit in two weeks. He’s now saying that may be on hold unless China agrees to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump signals possible delay to Beijing summit as U.S. pressures China to help reopen Strait of Hormuz

The remarks came as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Paris, paving the way for the summit scheduled for late March.

www.cnbc.com

Some Chinese oil is getting through and they have a substantial reserve. They are also willing to take Russian oil. Why would they sever their ties with Iran? And I suspect he doesn't want to go there and be embarrassed by them laughing off his threats.

… “the war-planning process was not as robust as normal, said one senior US official. The White House sharply downsized its National Security Council over the last year, undercutting the coordinating role that it’s typically played in gathering input from across the government and ensuring any key concerns or considerations don’t fall through the cracks.

“The NSC used to be the final synthesizer before going to deputy or principal meetings for approvals,” the senior US official said of the administration’s internal processes. “Without a real interagency process led by the NSC, the planning falls apart.”

That kinda genius thinking comes from this kind of d*ck riding:

Don't confuse my observations about hardball politics with "don't understand". There are people who worship "interagency" concensus on various matters, and people who figure elections have consequences. The latter are running the administration.

"I know more than the generals."

 

[ytz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2033344185793970543

Oil will be at $120 by week's end and possibly $150 in 2-3 weeks. They might have to add global economic crisis to the Iran War on the To-Do List.

At this point I see no options but spin up more MEUs and an airborne division, seize a bunch of island and hope to force sea control while negotiating. Otherwise, Khomeini can see the flop sweat from there. He knows he can keep the pressure up and Trump will leave. That will make the Gulf States bow to Iran. And have to consider a nuclear armed Iran ramping up proxies.

 

[GR66]

Chinese Oil Imports Through the Strait of Hormuz​

Importance of the Strait of Hormuz​

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical waterway for global oil shipments, handling about 20% of the world's oil supply. It is particularly vital for Asian countries, including China, which relies heavily on this route for its energy needs.

China's Oil Dependence​

• China imports approximately 40% to 50% of its seaborne oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
• The strait is essential for China's energy security, as it accounts for a significant portion of its total oil consumption

Given the above, I would think they'd look pretty seriously at the offer.
Another choice would be to have all their tankers sanctioned so they would be out the 50% that comes through SoH.

And they may decide to wait it out. They've got a $1.2 million barrels in their Strategic Oil Reserve. Just a matter of how low they want to deplete that reserve.

Iran has stated that they are only targeting ships that are related the US/Israel and those nations supporting their attacks. China is not part of that, so their ships will not be targeted. So, if the tankers going to China can safely transit the Straights then why would they need to deploy ships to support the Americans?

[edited for clarity]

 

[GR66]

So Trump is suggesting that the future of the US in NATO is dependent on European NATO members cleaning up the mess he's created in Iran.

From CNN:

President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that NATO faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in securing the Strait of Hormuz, sending a harsh message to European nations over the strategic waterway.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the Financial Times in a phone interview, adding that “if there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

The president touted the US’ assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia, saying, “We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. … Now we’ll see if they help us. Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them but they won’t be there for us.”

Asked what type of assistance he is seeking, the president said, “whatever it takes,” including minesweepers.

NATO is a European and North American defense alliance set up to promote peace and stability and to safeguard the security of its members. It is not meant to aid a nation when a member state starts a war.

“We’re always there for NATO,” Trump later reiterated while returning to the White House from Florida aboard Air Force One. “It’d be interesting to see what country wouldn’t help us with a very small endeavor, which is just keeping the strait open.”

Trump also suggested in the Financial Times interview that allies could help address threats coming from the Iranian coastline. He said he wants “people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the shore,” referring to Iranian forces that have used drones and naval mines in the Gulf.

The president repeated his frustration with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, over his lack of immediate support for the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

“The UK might be considered the No. 1 ally, the longest serving, etc., and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” he said, noting he discussed the issue with Starmer in a call earlier Sunday.

“And as soon as we basically wiped out the danger capacity from Iran, they said, ‘Oh, well we’ll send two ships,’ and I said, ‘We need these ships before we win, not after we win.’ I’ve long said that NATO is a one-way street.”

So the US initiates a war in the Middle East that will have strategic repercussions in Europe without engaging his allies in Europe in advance. He mocks the British for offering to send ships to the area as being too late to be any help and then when the war doesn't go a he planned he now threatens that if NATO doesn't come and help him out of the situation they can't rely on the US to fulfill their treaty obligations.

It's blatantly obvious that the US is not at all interested in alliances. It's only interested in vassal states to do its military bidding.

 

[Remius]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2033532928504762481

Shocking.

 

[brihard]

Chinese Oil Imports Through the Strait of Hormuz​

Importance of the Strait of Hormuz​

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical waterway for global oil shipments, handling about 20% of the world's oil supply. It is particularly vital for Asian countries, including China, which relies heavily on this route for its energy needs.

China's Oil Dependence​

• China imports approximately 40% to 50% of its seaborne oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
• The strait is essential for China's energy security, as it accounts for a significant portion of its total oil consumption

Given the above, I would think they'd look pretty seriously at the offer.
Another choice would be to have all their tankers sanctioned so they would be out the 50% that comes through SoH.

And they may decide to wait it out. They've got a $1.2 million barrels in their Strategic Oil Reserve. Just a matter of how low they want to deplete that reserve.

Nah, while Iran has major command and control issues right now, China is tight with them and knows they can leverage the situation for continued preferential rates. Why would China fight Iran when they can simply deal with them? This war has driven Iran significantly father into China’s pocket and I suspect the Chinese government are loving that, even at the cost of short to mid term turbulence. As a prt of 50-100 year strategy this is great for them. It also further weakens the U.S. both individually and as a western leader of coalitions.

The U.S. wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to blockade oil destined for China. The Chinese can cause them far more pain than could possibly be worth it if they did. China has also continued to diversify its energy supplies. While this certainly hurts them in the short term, they can weather it. They can simply let Trump keep making mistakes… They don’t need to join in.