Only two vessels not linked to Iran or Russia have made the “chicken run” through the strait of Hormuz since Donald Trump said he would “ensure the free flow of energy to the world”, according to maritime records.
One of those that braved the journey since the US president’s announcement of emergency measures on Friday went “dark” by switching off its transponder and a second signalled it was Chinese owned and crewed.
The Hormuz sea passage, one of the world’s most strategically important choke points, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. In response to the US and Israeli attacks, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships which were seeking to traverse it in the early days of the crisis.
On Friday, Trump announced a $20bn (£14.85bn) reinsurance scheme to revive shipping through the strait, which he said would come into effect immediately. He followed up by saying that shipowners should “show some guts” by sailing through the war zone.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/ ... ait-hormuz
Four days and two ships, one of which was China-registered and not a target, the other shepherded through by the US navy? As opposed to the usual 400 tankers?
Perhaps the other tankers haven't taken a shot at crossing - clever wording there - not because the hulls and cargo aren't insured by this emergency measure, but because the crew would prefer to stay alive. Not a consideration, Donny? Crew refuse to deliberately risk their lives in a war zone you created, and all of a sudden it's their fault?
As for regime change in Iran, I suspect even those Iranians within Iran who would actually like to have a secular constitution are fully aware they'd have no backing from Israel or US were they to succeed. A resurrected Iran with a secular constitution is, from the perspective of Israel and US, a worse option than the continued rule of the Guardian Council. It's almost distressing that neither Israel or US have declared any desired testable endpoint for their current actions. What do we want? A patriotic response at home. When do we want it? On and off for the remaining terms of office, presumably.
