Tyler Burden over at Zero Hedge has published a piece on the Iranian blockade and what it is doing to the world.
The effectiveness of the blockade is already apparent; the propaganda bots on social media are scrambling to find a narrative to counter it, but they are failing. Why? Because Iran already tried to lock down the strait (which is an international waterway), and any government cheering (or secretly cheering) for Iran’s actions is now unable to make a rational argument against the US doing the same thing to Iran. As I noted in March:
“We constantly hear about international exposure to the Hormuz shutdown, but the media rarely mentions that Iran is the MOST exposed economy of all. For now, Iranian oil ships continue to pass through the strait and these vessels are Iran’s economic lifeline. Strategic estimates suggest that without the steady passage of these oil tankers, the Iranian economy would completely collapse within five weeks…”
As it turns out, at this point Iran’s economy is already teetering on the edge of collapse as its inflation rate has hit 180%. Most real economics experts give it no more than two weeks before a complete collapse occurs.
Tyler Burden goes on to dispel some lies being spread by propagandists and those who want to see America fail.
Lie #1: The US Is Blocking All Ships Traveling Through The Strait
This is false. The US is only blocking ships coming from Iranian ports. All other ships have been allowed to pass without incident. This lie is being spread by disinfo agents all over social media and it is also being spread by foreign governments from the UK to France to China. This, to me, says A LOT about the true agenda of these countries, given that they said little or nothing about Iran locking down the strait.
Lie #2: Chinese Vessels Have Broken The Blockade And The US Is Afraid
Nope. All Chinese vessels coming from Iranian ports have been turned away and any vessels coming from alternative ports have been allowed to pass. At the time this article is being published, only one ship from an Iranian port has allegedly slipped through the blockade, though the story on this ship might be fabricated. All other Iranian ships have been repelled.
This is a key fact. Where a ship originates governs what actions are taken. If it is coming from an Iranian port, it is stopped and turned around.
Lie #3: The Blockade Puts US Naval Ships At Serious Risk
No, it does the opposite. US ships have no need to traverse the narrow Hormuz to blockade it. All they have to do is wait outside of it and turn back Iranian tankers that approach. No mines, no missiles, no drones, no tiny attack boats, nothing Iran has the ability to deploy has much of a chance of harming the US Navy. In fact, reports indicate ships like the USS Abraham Lincoln (an aircraft carrier) have already been targeted hundreds of times by Iran with no damage taken.
There is nothing Iran can do about a comprehensive blockade.
Lie #4: Iran Is Used To Sanctions And Can Hold Out Longer Than The US
No, they can’t. Only 7% of energy exports going to the US travel through the Hormuz. Iran’s entire economy hangs by a thin thread and that thread is oil exports to countries like China or Vietnam.
Iran is reportedly losing around $430 million each day that their ships remain stuck in the strait, and they have already taken around $270 billion in infrastructure damages. Iran pays for new weapons and military logistics with oil revenues. Their soldiers are paid in part with oil revenues. They mitigate civil unrest with oil revenues.
I suspect that the blockade will force Iran back into negotiations within a couple weeks. That’s how little time they have left.
Lie #5: Iran Has Alternative Ways To Bypass The Blockade
No, they don’t. Overland routes without ample pipelines are no substitute for the ease of oil tanker shipments. Even if they did have such pipelines, those lines could be easily destroyed.
By extension, as Iran’s oil exports stack up they will quickly run out of storage space, which means they will have to shut down drilling. This would cause significant damage to their oil infrastructure within weeks due to pressure differentials.
Recent news indicates that Iran has already halted all petrochemical exports until further notice. If true, this proves that the blockade is highly effective.
The big fact here is that Iran has just capitulated and agreed to the US terms for ending the conflict. All enriched uranium will be turned over. The Strait of Hormuz will remain open to all traffic. No reparations will be paid. The blockade will remain in place until the conditions agreed to are met.
The blockade is so effective that it has struck fear in China and fear in the liberal order in Europe which was counting on the war to drag on for months or years. Look at how angry they all are that Trump flipped the script on the Hormuz! Why all the emotion and irrational hand wringing after the strait has been opened to ships and oil traffic?
The UK, Germany, France and Italy have decided to act to open the Strait after Trump has already done so. The Deep State control of the world’s economies has been seriously exposed for all to see. Otherwise, why all the panic when oil prices are falling? It doesn’t make sense unless they WANT the US to fail so they can remain in power.
Regardless of how you might feel personally about the Iran war, it is undeniable that the situation has revealed many of our supposed allies as enemies. In reality, they were always enemies. The only thing that has changed is that the truth is finally out in the open.