Let's talk about Trump, more strikes in Iran, and changing his blockade plans.... - Belle of the Ranch

[TexasTowelie]

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump looking at more strikes in Iran, and changing his blockade plans.

We're going to do a bunch of updates from the last 36 hours or so. There's a lot of moving parts and some of these developments could become important later.

First, the update I found the most entertaining. It appears that somebody finally broke it to Trump that he was yelling at the wrong international organization. As Trump repeatedly blasted NATO over them not getting involved, I pointed out that Trump needed a different organization. He always undermines, the UN. Link below.

Well, reporting has come out that Trump is now considering going to the UN to beg for help cleaning up his mess. But while he's fumbling about trying to figure out how to use the broom to clean up, he keeps knocking other stuff off the shelves, making the mess bigger.

Last night, Trump posted “the United States to blockade ships entering or exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

That deadline will have already passed by the time you watch this. With Trump's chicken and waffles foreign policy, there's no telling whether this is in lie of his promised block of the strait as a whole or this is just a different whim of his. As we often say, Trump is not a source.

CENTCOM, which is the military command overseeing this, said there would be a blockade “against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”

That's also different from the Trump blockade of the strait claim. So, it's possible that he's realized exactly how bad of an idea that was and chickened out already. Doesn't matter. As of this morning, both Brent and WTI crude were both above $100 a barrel again. The Iranian Parliament speaker posted to social media, "Enjoy the current pump figures. with the so-called blockade. Soon you'll be nostalgic for four to five dollar gas. Accompanying the message was a map of gas stations near the White House with their current gas prices.

Trump said the UK was sending mine sweepers. And while there are reportedly British mine sweepers in region, the UK has said they aren't joining the blockade, but that leaves the door open to clearing the strait.

It's also being reported that Trump is considering more air strikes against Iran. This is the beginning of mission creep. Now the air strikes are to get Iran back to the table. For younger people, this is what the beginning of forever wars looks like. Constantly expanding justifications and reasons for additional military operations. Since Trump didn't have a plan going in and had no real clear objectives outlined, it's very easy to turn to air strikes to try to make up for his foreign policy failures.

The short version here is that the instability and uncertainty continues. As long as that persists, the trade disruptions will exist. As long as disruptions exist, your prices will be higher.

Reminder, Congress could stop this immediately, but Republicans refuse to.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.