Hegseth says 'don't need to worry about' oil supply and Iran's closure of Strait of Hormuz

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-13-2026#0000019c-e734-d729-affe-ef743a750000

Hegseth, on Gulf oil supply, says ‘we’re dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it’
By BEN FINLEY

The defense secretary told reporters that Iran is “exercising sheer desperation” in the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iran war has closed, blocking a significant portion of the world’s oil.

“And as the world is seeing, they are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz, something we’re dealing with. We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it. We’re on plan to defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities at a pace the world has never seen before.”

Hegseth did not give details. But Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the U.S. military has “made it a priority to target Iran’s minelaying enterprise” impacting the strategic waterway.

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Operation Epic Stupidity is the best war the world has ever seen

“The Strait of Hormuz is a difficult, almost impossible, problem to solve through military means alone,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, who served as a senior air strategist in the Middle East in the 2000s.

At the time, General Hinote was asked to study military approaches to Iranian aggression, including a scenario in which Iran attacked shipping in the strait. His team concluded that while the United States could use advanced sensors and precision strikes to mitigate Iranian attacks, they could not stop them completely. The shipping lanes are too narrow, and the vessels are too vulnerable to a mix of rockets, missiles and swarms of small craft.

The only way militarily to guarantee the waterway is open — to move from mitigation to control — would be to take and hold the Iranian territory bordering the strait, he said.

Iran’s decision to start mining the strait injects yet another risk. The United States Central Command said Thursday that the number of mine-laying vessels it had attacked was up to 30. But on Thursday, Iran began using smaller boats — of which the I.R.G.C. has hundreds, if not thousands — for its mining operation, according to a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence.

It could be hugely expensive, and dangerous, for the U.S. Navy to have to conduct what would most likely be a weekslong mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to military officials. They said that clearing the strait could also put American sailors directly in harm’s way. And the military would need to make difficult choices about sending warships into the strait that are now being used to support the offensive mission against Iran.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/politics/strait-of-hormuz-iran-war.html

[Irish_Dem]

1. All of his ridiculous hyperbole puts troops in danger

[dalton99a]

2. Fucking asshole is full of steroids.

[Goonch]

3. ;-{)......

[calguy]

4. I think it's pretty much impossible to get a clear picture of the situation

With right-wing billionaires in control of 80% of the media, with Iran and Israel blocking information and videos of the damage they are taking, along with the daily bullshit spewing from our corrupt, lying administration, how san we know what’s true or what’s not?