Weekly Weigh In: Israel Get’s Their Wish, Supreme Leader Dead But All It Takes is One, Strait of Hormuz and ANOTHER Front? (VIDEOS)
US/Israel have kicked things off first by striking Iran. Already the dancing Israelis have been filmed…well, that is until Iran blew up Tel Aviv in retaliation.
Direct hit on oil facility in Saudi Arabia
Iranian state TV announces death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strike.
US EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD OVERRUN Thousands flood inside, grabbed heavy gear.
Fighting Blind
Iran just took out a $1.1 billion radar at the most fortified US base in the Middle East with a single missile. That radar was the backbone of ALL US missile defense in the Gulf. Every defense missile essentially. This is not to say they are completely without support but this was a vital asset for Israel and USA.
Qatar intercepted 101 missiles during this conflict. Two got through. One hit the only target that mattered. This is to say nothing of the drones that made it through.
This is asymmetric warfare Iran has to succeed once and they are up against the wall…the United States are choosing to be Israel’s pussy who has to succeed every single time.
Iran claims full destruction of the $1.1B AN/FPS-132 radar (5,000km range for missile tracking). Qatari officials confirmed the radar strike; satellite imagery (Planet Labs/NYT) shows damage/debris. US/Pentagon silent on full extent—ops continue with redundancies. This shows Iran’s asymmetric tactic: saturate defenses to score occasional hits.
Are You Long Energy?
Iran has closed all transit out of the Middle Eastern gulf countries out of the Strait of Hormuz. This closure to oil and gas exports for the past four days with a mixture of drone strikes and fear has halted commercial maritime traffic despite intense US attacks on Iran’s navy. Such blockage may hurt India as they’re dependent on 85% of oil imports and 60% of these coming from the GCC countries.
China is the world’s largest oil importer in the world at over 10M barrels a day; 40% of which come through the Strait of Hormuz. China’s new pipeline from Central Asia/Russia only accounts for 20% of their imports.
It’s worse for Japan since they import 90% of their oil and 75% of this comes from the Persian Gulf.
On the flip side, only 10% of Saudi exports go to Europe via the Red Sea–Saudi Arabia, even if their oil fields are not burning, have no easy way to get their black gold to market.
The security landscape in Europe has shifted dramatically amid the noise out of the Middle East in Eastern Europe. America’s only forward-deployed corps, U.S. Army V Corps is working alongside NATO allies to develop the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line, or EFDL, a coalition-driven framework designed to reshape modern deterrence.
V Corps continues to prioritize interoperability with NATO partners through shared technology, data-link experimentation, and joint training.
I am unsure how the United States will be able to fight on all fronts with supplies dwindling (allegedly), US bases damaged and an increasing unpopular Trump.
