Looks like the war with Iran is cooking off

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Trump floats the idea of the U.S. abandoning the Strait of Hormuz to pull in stubborn NATO countries. Bold move considering the one country that relies on it the most is China...which Iran is giving free passage.

On the SoH we've gone from:

1. Don't need help
2. We need help
3. Why the hell aren't folks helping?
4. Help is on the way
5. Not telling you who is helping
6. Help is not actually on the way but we don't need it anyway
7. We may just abandon SoH and leave it to everyone else

If this is the art of the deal, I'll never understand. One has to be a Chaos magician.





Mark Rutte giving it his best effort to make daddy proud...


https://x.com/townhallcom/status/2034325243523645716


Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was asked on an American podcast if he was afraid of American "boots on the ground" and he said, "No, no, we're waiting for them" and then he gave this smirk which moments later this meme was produced:




The Iranian Armed Forces spokesman trolls Trump...

https://x.com/LBGamestips/status/2033602340599558655


Aftermath of Joe Kent's resignation...




Uh oh, Houston, we may have a reputational damage problem (if true)
Unclear with what at this point.


The injured F-35 made an emergency landing at one of the air bases in the Middle East region. Emergency landing confirmed by CENTCOM. May have been something went wrong with the jet itself.


In the 1991 Persian Gulf war, the United States had 86 aircraft destroyed or damaged by enemy action. Of those, more than half (~51) were taken out of action within the first 20 days of the onset of the air war. (Gulf Airpower Survey, p. 61.)

By 2003, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I believe there was only one US air combat loss: an A-10 was shot down over Baghdad. The pilot ejected and survived.


Gulf War Air Power Survey Summary Report (1993)


Treasury Secretary Bessent is recommending not just repealing the sanctions on Russian oil, but also...wait for it...IRANIAN OIL! That would oil on the water, in tankers.

There is still about 3,200 ships stuck in the Persian Gulf. Ports are overwhelmed and security is such that they are refusing permission for ships to dock. Some of the ships are reporting they are running out of fresh water and low on food.


NBC, WaPo and Newsmax are all reporting the same:

The US military has accelerated the deployment of thousands of Marines and sailors to help reinforce US troops in the Middle East. The deployment of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from California has been sped up to occur within days, per two officials.

The task force, with about 4,500 sailors and Marines, is expected to head across the Pacific, eventually replacing the 31st MEU in the Middle East. The 31st MEU was dispatched a week or so ago and is closing in on the region now.

Boxer Amphibious Ready Group includes the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship which serves as a mini aircraft carrier and USS Portland and USS Comstock amphibious landing ships. There are roughly 2,500 Marines and 4,000 total service members aboard these three amphibs.