And Iran keeps its oil transiting from Kharg Island safely to its customers:
Iran still exporting millions of barrels of oil through Strait of Hormuz even as other traffic paralyzed
Story by Tim Lister, CNN
• 18h
If the United States assumed, before attacking Iran, that the major oil producer would be reluctant to close the Strait of Hormuz for fear of blocking its own oil exports, it miscalculated.
Ships near the Strait of Hormuz are broadcasting Chinese affiliations in an apparent bid to avoid attack, at a time when Iran’s new supreme leader vows to keep the strategic waterway closed.
If China sends ships to Strait of Hormuz (as requested by Trump) it will create safe passage because it will protect its friend, Iran.
Donald Trump has urged China, along with other nations, to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure this vital shipping route, which has been affected by Iran’s blockade. He emphasized the need for international cooperation to keep the strait open and safe for maritime traffic. Sky London Evening Standard
Depleting US stockpiles makes America vulnerable to those countries who hold larger stockpiles. Is this Putin’s long game?:
Trump administration and Democrats at odds over risk to US weapons stockpiles from Iran war
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have raised concerns among Democrats and others about diminishing American stockpiles of certain weapons, illustrating a long-standing production problem that some experts say could present challenges if another conflict emerges.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said American forces have all of the weapons they need to fight the Iran war, now in its second week. President Donald Trump posted Friday on social media that several defense contractors had agreed to quadruple production of weapons “as rapidly as possible,” although he did not detail the specific systems being manufactured.
Questions about the nation’s weapons stockpiles have grown as the U.S. campaign against Iran escalates, with many Democratic lawmakers arguing that Trump is waging a “war of choice.” Missile defense systems are under the most strain, according to experts, with Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors in high demand in Ukraine and Israel, respectively.
US Minesweeper ships were sent to Malaysia rather than stationed with US flotilla at start of Iraq war. This news gave Iran confidebce to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
US moves two Gulf-based minesweepers to Malaysia – report
Navy cites ‘logistical stop’ as concerns grow over Iran’s ability to disrupt key oil shipping route
i24NEWS
3 min read
March 17, 2026 at 05:10 AM
The US Navy said two of its three Gulf-based warships equipped with mine clearing capabilities have traveled roughly 4,000 miles to Malaysia for what it described as a “logistical stop,” according to a report by the Financial Times.
The redeployment comes amid growing concern over Iran’s ability to lay sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint through which about 20 percent of global oil exports pass. The risk of disruption to shipping in the waterway has raised alarm among governments and energy markets as oil prices soar and Iran threatens to continue using its control of the strait as economic leverage.
“The popular demand is to continue our effective defense and make the enemy regret. The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used,” said Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a televised statement read out by an Iranian news anchor last week.
The vessels are part of a three-ship deployment assigned to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The ships were sent to the region last year to help secure maritime traffic and counter potential threats linked to tensions with Iran
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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