Well, this should make for a pleasant ice-breaker in Islamabad. Negotiating teams from the US and Iran had a meeting scheduled for the morning in Pakistan, in large part focused on Iran’s pledge to allow unfettered traffic in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for [checks notes] not getting bombed back to the Stone Age. Instead, Iran attempted to force shippers to pay exorbitant “tolls” in cryptocurrency while continuing to export its own oil.
We’ll get back to the opening session in a moment. The US Navy decided to enter the chat – as well as the Strait of Hormuz:
“Several U.S. Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a U.S. official told Axios.
Why it matters: The move was not coordinated with Iran. It is the first time U.S. warships crossed the strait since the beginning of the war.
- The operation was aimed at increasing confidence for commercial ships to cross, sources say. It came as peace talks between the two sides kicked off in Pakistan.
- “This was an operation that focused on freedom of navigation through International waters,” the U.S. official said.
Driving the news: The official said the Navy ships crossed the strait from east to west to the Gulf, and then made their way back through the strait to the Arabian Sea.”
Was this a demonstration for commercial shipping? Well, sure, because the Iranians no longer have a navy to impose a formal blockade. Donald Trump wants to send a signal that the Strait is open for business no matter what the IRGC says.
Donald Trump made that point clear enough on Truth Social. He claimed that Iran could no longer lay mines and that the US Navy would clear any that may exist quickly, but that their passage showed that commercial shippers had little to fear:
This, however, was also clearly a signal to Abbas Araghchi and Mohammed Ghalibaf in Islamabad. The Strait of Hormuz is the only leverage Iran has left, or so they believe. The US, however, has at least five carrier groups in that theater and plenty of sea power to force open the Strait. Trump would prefer to leave that to the Europeans who need access to the oil and gas, but since our allies in Western Europe have proven impotent and feckless, Trump apparently decied to do them a “favor,” as he put it.
But that wasn’t the signal Trump sent. This was intended to demonstrate to Iran’s negotiators that they have no leverage, and that we came to Islamabad to negotiate the terms of their capitulation. If they are not interested in that process, well, Trump has other options:
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that the US has begun naval operations aimed at clearing Iranian sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz in a post on X/Twitter on Saturday. Two US Navy guided-missile destroyers, the USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy, successfully transited the Strait and began setting conditions for the mission to ensure that the waterway is completely clear of mines laid by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage, and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said of the operation.
President Trump is not fucking around. He made it clear that the Iranian shitbags will not go one impeding the shipment of oil through an international waterway.
FAFO camel fuckers.
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