Washington attempted to set up a naval coalition-intimidator to \u201copen\u201d the Strait of Hormuz. The international community\u2019s reaction? A resounding \u201cthank you, we won\u2019t take it\u201d and a hasty appointment with Tehran for safe passage. While Donald Trump dreamed of becoming the regulator of global energy, Iran simply\u2026 sat on the shore and waited patiently for everyone to realize who had the upper hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The geographical advantage that America forgets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last February, when American-Israeli strikes killed the Iranian leadership, Tehran instead of traditional retaliation chose to play the card that no one can take away from it: its geography. By controlling the northern coast of the Straits – this narrow 33-kilometer corridor through which 20% of the world’s oil passes – Iran reminded everyone that at sea, the size of the fleet matters less than the distance from the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And indeed, with just a few attacks on ships (or even the reputation of attacks), insurance companies began to tremble. Premiums skyrocketed, shipping froze and the energy market caught fire: oil exceeded 100 dollars a barrel, natural gas rose 40%. A show of strength from Iran with minimal means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump shouts, allies \u2026 pretend not to hear<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The American president suddenly remembered NATO duties and threatened his “partners” with a “very bad future” if they did not send warships. The response was rather awkward:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Japan: \u201cThank you, we are not planning\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia: \u201cOut of the question\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Britain: \u201cWe do not want war, thank you\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Italy: \u201cNo, we do not want it\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Germany: \u201cThis is not our war\u201d (with the famous German directness)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Washington\u2019s disappointment must have been enormous. But the real humiliation came from elsewhere: the countries that were supposed to participate in the coalition rushed to conclude\u2026 bilateral agreements with Iran!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tehran\u2019s \u201cclientelistic system\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n India negotiated for a few days, Modi called Pezheskian, and the Indian tankers passed through. Pakistan, Turkey, China followed. Rumor has it that Italy and France are also looking for Tehran\u2019s phone number (the Italians denied it, but we know how they work). Windwar, the shipping monitoring company, confirmed what everyone suspected: more and more ships are passing through Iranian territorial waters. With permission, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Iranian foreign minister put it simply: \u201cWe decide.\u201d So simple, so clear. And suddenly, the superpower with the world\u2019s most powerful fleet looks like a pawn in a geopolitical bargain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could you think differently, gentlemen?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is one small detail that American strategists seem to have overlooked: in 1980, when the US was escorting ships in the Iran-Iraq War, Iran was still disorganized after the revolution. Today it has mass-produced drones, high-speed suicide boats, mines, and experience in guerrilla warfare. Why would it lay mines in the straits? That would be foolish \u2013 because it would also block its own ships and lose the right to act as a \u201cgatekeeper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cKhark\u201d plan and other American follies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The US Central Command bombed missile sites on the coast (with 2,270 kg bombs, just to impress anyone). Trump sent amphibious ships with thousands of marines. Some \u201cexperts\u201d are proposing to occupy the island of Hark, from where about 90% of Iranian oil is exported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this islet is 500 km from the straits. If they capture it, the marines will become an easy target. And Iran, seeing its terminal in American hands, what do you think it will do? It will lay mines everywhere, since it will no longer have a reason to let ships pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The big truth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The issue of the Straits is not military. It is a matter of market and trust. And trust is not restored with cannons, but with diplomacy. Something that Washington, in its megalomania, probably forgot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And just like that, the country that wanted to \u201copen\u201d the Straits with its power ended up watching everyone colluding behind its back. Ironic and probably expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Washington attempted to set up a naval coalition-intimidator to \u201copen\u201d the Strait of Hormuz. The international community\u2019s reaction? A resounding \u201cthank you, we won\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,834,826],"tags":[160,4633,70],"class_list":["post-28377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geopolitical","category-middle-east-geopolitical","category-usa-geopolitical","tag-iran","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28379,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28377\/revisions\/28379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}