“Donald Trump has reinstated his naval blockade of Iran, barring ships from entering or leaving their ports, days after Tehran attacked another commercial vessel and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.

The President also claimed the US would be paid a 20 percent tariff for securing safe passage for commercial vessels through the Persian Gulf. The details of Trump's demand were not immediately clear.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US 'will be, from this point forward, known as "The Guardian of the Hormuz Strait."' 

'The process and formation will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' He wrote. …”

https://mol.im/a/15973663

Video at link. Big Bada BOOM !!!

https://www.militarytimes.com/...t-first-for-us-navy/

Sea drones strike Iranian port in combat first for US

U.S. Central Command utilized three Corsair unmanned surface vessels to strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas naval base in Iran, marking the “first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” CENTCOM confirmed on X on Monday.

Here is Deutsche Bank equity research analyst Chris Robertson's summary of developments last week and through the weekend:

Last week, Iran declared that the Strait of Hormuz is closed until further notice. Iran attacked a commercial container ship attempting to transit the region, causing a fire aboard the vessel.

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JIMC) said on Sunday that the southern Omani route remains available, but that the threat level is rated as "severe".

Regardless of any claims around the Strait being closed or open, what matters is that commercial ship owners are likely not willing to risk transit in an active war zone, putting ships and crews at risk of attack.

We reiterate our initial concerns that despite major destruction of traditional Iranian naval vessels and assets, the ongoing threat that shipowners face is asymmetric warfare technologies such as drones and missiles. These types of threats are much harder to predict or plan for, thereby maximizing uncertainty related to mitigating voyage risks.

We expect transit activity will slow, especially as it relates to vessels planning to enter the Gulf through the Strait which, unlike exiting activity, is the real sign that conditions are normalizing. We believe that an ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz will lead to downward pressure on shortterm tanker rates as ships remain in other regions, thereby increasing effective supply of those ships.

Diplomacy Unravels

As of Monday morning, it is clear that US-Iran diplomacy is unraveling, while US forces are systematically degrading the IRGC's ability to close the maritime chokepoint. Commercial ships continue to transit the waterway, undermining Tehran's claim that the critical waterway is effectively shut.

Tehran must also recognize the longer-term strategic risk: every disruption accelerates global investment in pipelines, export terminals, and other infrastructure designed to bypass Hormuz. Once those alternatives are operational, Tehran's greatest source of geopolitical leverage will evaporate. Then what?

****
But now...

Trump: US to Take Over Strait & Get Paid For It

President Trump in surprising commentary issued to "Fox & Friends" has said the United States will probably take over the Strait of Hormuz and should be reimbursed for controlling it. His words have raised eyebrows given Washington's stance has been that no one can collect tolls for transit through the vital international waterway. He said once the US gains control of it, following a weekend bombing campaign on Iranian coastal sites, "we'll probably run it" and "we should be reimbursed for that."

"We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that," he says in the Fox phone interview.

Again, US officials have throughout Operation Epic Fury voiced that it is an illegal outrage for Iran to suggest it would charge fees, but now...

https://www.zerohedge.com/geop...-continue-transiting

Not sure what is more surprising - the surface drone strike or the fact that Iran had a functional submarine?

^^^^^^
Well, it’s now submerged, so yes, a functional submarine.

It’s a Bayliner.

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
A submarine maintenance facility, not a submarine.

Ding! But leave it to these yahoos on twitter to milk the official CENTCOM announcement into something more.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Not sure what is more surprising - the surface drone strike or the fact that Iran had a functional submarine?

They had a couple of Kilo-class boats that I believe are all now permanent features beneath the waves, along with 10-20 indigenous mini-type subs, mainly coastal patrol types in varying states of repair and build, which I think this target was one of those.

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
A submarine maintenance facility, not a submarine.

Watch the video closer, once it turns to the camera on the drone boat as it approaches the dry dock around the 12 second mark there appears to be a submarine up on the dock under some kind of repair/maintenance.

Here is a screen grab of that moment...

Maybe the sub was on lease from NOK.....

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Maybe the sub was on lease from NOK.....

They're going to need a metric shit ton of magnets to repossess that sub

Busy night (morning) in the Middle East…

No fewer than 8 USAF KC-135/KC-46 tankers operating right now in the Persian Gulf area.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Maybe the sub was on lease from NOK NORKs.....

fixed it for you

The Iranians say they still have submarine capability.

I’d forgotten all about that song.

Great find.

A Russian aircraft serving as an airborne command post flew to Tehran on the eve of U.S. strikes on targets in Iran.

According to the AirNav radar flight tracking system, a Tu-214PU with registration number RA-64531 arrived in Tehran on July 13 at 07:35 a.m. Kyiv time.

This visit took place before the start of the U.S. military operation, and the Russian aircraft’s stay in the Iranian capital was brief.

The Russian aircraft departed from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 07:08 p.m. The aircraft headed east and flew to Beijing, where it landed on July 14 at 02:25 a.m.



https://militarnyi.com/en/news...-of-the-u-s-strikes/

And?

No doubt we knew about it and the purpose behind it. Otherwise it would of been shot down.

^^^^ Should've left it in place and collected it from Iran.