New York Times: The U.S. military said early Wednesday Iran time that it had completely stopped all commercial trade to and from Iranian ports less than 36 hours after implementing a naval blockade…
Iran faces halt to oil production within weeks if US blockade succeeds
Tehran has a maximum of 16 days of storage before it will need to curtail its output…
Europe Drafts Postwar Plan to Free Up Hormuz Without U.S.
European countries are putting together a plan for a broad coalition of countries to help free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, including sending mine-clearing and other military vessels. But the plan would only come after the war and may exclude one country in particular: the U.S…
Trump says Iran talks may resume this week, but opposes enrichment compromise
“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons,” he said of Vance’s offer. “So I don’t like the 20 years.” Asked about suggestions that a moratorium might encourage Iran to make an agreement, Trump said, “I don’t want them [Tehran] to feel like they have a win.”…
Strait of Hormuz tankers stop or turn around amid US blockade
The US blockade of Iranian ports appeared to be impacting the movement of ships in the Gulf on Tuesday, with tracking data showing that several tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz had either stopped or turned around…
U.S. blockade has turned back six merchant ships leaving Strait of Hormuz
More than a dozen American warships positioned in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea are acting as a “net,” officials said. None of the encounters with the merchant vessels has required escalation…
How geography powers Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, despite U.S. blockade
But even as Washington seeks to squeeze Iran economically, Tehran retains a powerful advantage: geography. Over six weeks of conflict, Iran has halted virtually all traffic in the strait by laying mines, according to its military forces, and exploiting the vulnerability created by its terrain. Even under a U.S. blockade, these factors allow Iran to continue exerting influence over who crosses — and at what risk…
Here’s What the U.S. Blockade of Iran Looks Like
Warships, helicopters, jet fighters and thousands of servicemembers are enforcing the operation…
Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases
Leaked documents show IRGC secretly acquired system and used it to guide strikes during war in March…
Rubio Hosts Israel and Lebanon for Rare Meeting Shadowed by U.S.-Iran War
…the very fact of the gathering underscored the degree to which Israel and Lebanon have come to share the goal of disarming Hezbollah, the militia group based in southern Lebanon. Neither Iran nor Hezbollah was part of the talks, which both oppose…
Europe Is Accelerating a NATO Fallback Plan in Case Trump Pulls Out
A fallback plan to ensure Europe can defend itself using NATO’s existing military structures if the U.S. departs is gaining traction after getting buy-in from Germany, a long-term opponent of a go-it-alone approach.
The officials working on the plans, which some officials are referring to as “European NATO,” are seeking to get more Europeans into the alliance’s command-and-control roles and supplement U.S. military assets with their own…
Trump’s Blockade Risks Upending an Emerging Détente With China
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, made his first public comments on the war on Tuesday, saying that the world could not risk reverting “to the law of the jungle.” He never mentioned the United States or Mr. Trump. But he did not need to, adding during a meeting with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi that “to maintain the authority of international rule of law, we cannot use it when it suits us and abandon it when it doesn’t.”…
How China’s Weapons Transfers to Iran Have Evolved Over Decades
China has denied claims this month by U.S. intelligence that it might have shipped arms to Iran. In recent years, China has supported Iran with dual-use parts…
51 Percent of Americans Think the War in Iran Has Not Been Worthwhile.
Even among the president’s core supporters, there is a divide: 55 percent of Republicans said they thought the war was worth the costs and benefits, a far cry from the vast majority of his base who support Mr. Trump on most other issues. Instead, 20 percent of Republicans said they thought the war had not been worth the cost, and another 24 percent were not sure…
Israel’s new spymaster is a Netanyahu aide who believed war with Iran would topple the regime
Roman Gofman, currently serving as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary, told the Israeli leader in planning discussions that the Iranian regime could be toppled, a view shared by the agency he is set to lead, and one that proved overly optimistic.
Gofman is slated to assume the post in June for a five-year term, replacing David Barnea, who also believed that a war could topple the Islamic Republic…
US allies won’t join Trump’s war — but they can’t escape the fallout
Their dilemma is shifting the dynamic between the US and its allies. Leaders who once tried to appease and flatter the world’s most powerful man are now daring to criticize him and seeking distance. They are doing so not just out of antipathy to American foreign policy, but also because of war-related pressures threatening the livelihoods of their people, and therefore their own governments and careers…
Iran’s Regime Has Changed—for the Worse
“The war changed the regime—and not in a good way,” said Danny Citrinowicz, who formerly headed the Iran desk for Israeli military intelligence. “We created a reality that is worse than what Iranians were facing before the war.”…