Reports ARE that Iran in total wants to ‘Control’ the Strait of Hormuz….PERIOD….
Trump’s goal seems to be get the Strait Open…Whatever….
Secure Iran’s Uranium…..
The problem with this as has been mentioned here almost daily is?
There are TWO Irans that Trump is dealing with….
The Iranian Civilians who WILL make a deal…
And the Iranian Military Who will NOT….
Russian and China ARE involved in possible arm shipments and satellite support for Iran….
The US keeps shooting at Iran registered ships as part of the blockage and Iran keeps shooting at the UAE….
Reports have come to light that the Saudi’s pressured Trump against trying to the do the Strait ‘Escort ‘ thing with the US Navy….
Trump is STILL waiting for cohesive ‘ceasefire‘ answer from whoever can do it in Iran….
One doubts THAT is achievable right now as Iran seems to be pressuring the American President to give up and go home empty handed…..
Israel is just NOT gonna stop attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hezbollah is gonna keep firing back….
The United States said it had fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday, as Iran’s foreign minister accused Washington of “a reckless military adventure” and of undermining diplomatic efforts to end the war.
U.S. Central Command said it had disabled the two tankers as they tried to reach an Iranian port. The latest strikes came a day after the U.S. military and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz — fighting that the Iranian military said was triggered by an earlier U.S. attack on another Iranian tanker.
They also came as Iranian officials have said Washington and Tehran are debating a one-page U.S. proposal for the sides to reopen the strait and cease hostilities for 30 days as they negotiate a comprehensive deal to end the war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked about the state of negotiations, said that the United States expected a “response” from Iran on Friday. And despite the exchanges of fire in recent days, both President Trump and Iran’s foreign ministry have insisted that their monthlong cease-fire was holding.
Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington on Thursday evening, dismissed the day’s exchange of attacks as a “trifle” and again warned that Iran “better sign their agreement fast,” an apparent reference to the one-page U.S. proposal.
On Friday, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, questioned in a social media post whether the U.S. strikes were a “crude pressure tactic.” He added: “Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure.”
A key hurdle to any agreement was the U.S. demand for advance commitments on the fate of Iran’s nuclear program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, three senior Iranian officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
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Sanctions: The United States on Friday announced a flurry of new sanctions intended to increase pressure on Iran’s economy, targeting people and companies in China that have been helping the Iranian military. Read more ›
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Oil slick: Satellite images show a large oil slick spreading off Kharg Island, Iran’s primary crude oil export terminal. The apparent spill had spread over an area of more than 20 square miles as of Thursday. Read more ›
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Markets: Oil prices and global stocks inched upward on Friday afternoon as investors weighed conflicting signals about the status of the conflict in the Persian Gulf. Read more ›
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Lebanon: Fighting intensified between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, fraying an already fragile cease-fire between them. Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, killing at least four people, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The Israeli military later said that some rockets had been launched into northern Israel but reported no casualties….
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When Donald Trump abruptly pulled the plug on “Project Freedom”, the scheme to open the strait of Hormuz, barely a day after it had been announced, he gave the impression that an opportunity for a peace deal had materialised that could not be missed.
To the surprise of nobody who has been following the US’s recent adventures in geopolitics, Trump’s spin concealed a lot of the underlying reality. It turns out that Trump suspended Project Freedom after Saudi Arabia stopped the US military from using its bases or airspace to carry out the operation, which involved giving air cover to commercial shipping sailing through the strait.
There are different versions of why this happened. NBC News, which first reported the Saudi action, suggested it was because Riyadh, and other Gulf capitals, were not informed beforehand. Elsewhere, Saudi commentary said the shutdown of US operations was only made after an Iranian attack on oil facilities in Fujairah, one of the seven emirates in the UAE – an attack that was played down by the US, which did not respond to it. That showed Riyadh, the commentators said, that Washington was ready to launch major operations in the Gulf without consulting its allies – or protecting them from the fallout…
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ISW…Iran Update Special Report, May 8, 2027
- Iranian officials continue to frame control over the Strait of Hormuz as a key strategic interest and a critical component of long-term Iranian deterrence. Iran likely views control over the strait as essential to restoring deterrence against the United States and Israel following the degradation of its other forms of deterrence.
- The United States and Iran remain divided over key issues, particularly Iran’s nuclear program, the status of Iran’s highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, and Iranian efforts to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
- The United States has continued efforts to maintain an effective naval blockade against Iran as Iran continues to assert long-term sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iran has continued to escalate rhetorically and militarily against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid Iranian attempts to portray the UAE as a hostile state supporting US and Israeli operations against Iran. Iran likely also seeks to demonstrate that continued US military actions against Iran will generate direct security and economic costs for Gulf states cooperating with the United States.
- Confidential Russian documents, seen by The Economist, revealed a Russian proposal to offer Iran several thousand drones and training for Iranian drone operators, which raises concerns about the proliferation of fiber-optic drone technology to Iran and its regional proxies. Some of these proxies have already demonstrated the ability to employ these systems against US and allied targets.
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