Is Iran rapidly overflowing in crude oil due to the US blockade of Iranian ports?

Food for thought!

"Iran’s rapidly depleting oil storage capacity likely explains, at least in part, why Iran is pushing for a peace agreement that would lift the US naval blockade. ... that the US blockade on Iranian ports has forced Iran to store oil in “disused oil tanks in poor condition” and in “containers” in the cities of Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, and Asaluyeh, Bushehr Province, according to unspecified current and former Iranian officials."

Iran Update Evening Special Report: April 27, 2026 | Critical Threats

Clearing Strait of Hormuz of mines could take 6 months, Pentagon tells Congress

Where are the Europeans when you need them??? Do some minesweeping!

Only 20 mines? It would take 6 months to remove them???

"... Three officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the discussion’s sensitivity, said lawmakers were told that Iran may have emplaced 20 or more mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the movement of Middle Eastern oil through the Persian Gulf. Some were floated remotely using GPS technology, which has made it difficult for U.S. forces to detect the mines as they are deployed, the senior defense official told lawmakers. Others are believed to have been laid by Iranian forces using small boats. ..."

Clearing Strait of Hormuz of mines could take 6 months, Pentagon tells Congress "The Pentagon assessment, shared in a classified briefing for lawmakers, suggests gasoline and oil prices could remain elevated through the midterm elections."

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias conducted up to half of the roughly 1,000 drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia

Bad news! What to do about that?

"... Iranian-backed Iraqi militias conducted up to half of the roughly 1,000 drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia during the war, according to unnamed sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal on April 21. CTP-ISW previously assessed that it very unlikely that Iranian-backed Iraqi militias would conduct drone attacks against regional states if the Iranian regime opposed such attacks, which suggests that Iran has not ordered its militia partners to cease attacking regional state. ..."

Iran Update Evening Special Report, April 21, 2026

US forces intercepted ‘gift from China’ to Iran, President Trump says

Bade news! Serious stuff! Will the Iran war expand to other countries?

US forces intercepted ‘gift from China’ to Iran, Donald Trump says (behind paywall) "US president says Beijing had sent something ‘that wasn’t very nice’ and he thought he had an ‘understanding’ with Xi Jinping"

Xi Jinping says Strait of Hormuz should be open in call to Saudi Crown Prince

Headline of the day!

Nice indirect order/intervention aimed at Iran to stop messing with the Strait of Hormuz! Bravo!

Xi Jinping says Strait of Hormuz should be open in call to Saudi Crown Prince

Iran Update regarding blockade of Iranian ports and second round of negotiations

Good news!

"Key Takeaways:

• US naval forces continued to enforce the blockade on Iranian ports. US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on April 15 that no vessels had breached the blockade on Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of enforcement.
• The United States has reportedly set two preconditions for another round of negotiations:
  first, Iran must fully “reopen” the Strait of Hormuz, and
  second, the Iranian negotiating delegation must have “full authority” to finalize a deal.
  The second precondition comes amid reports of intra-regime conflict and corroborates ... assessment that the United States is negotiating with a divided council of hardliners and pragmatists rather than a singular, unified authority.
  ...
• Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated on April 14 that the United States and Israel have decided that removing the enriched uranium from Iran is a "threshold condition" for ending the US-Israeli campaign.

..."

Iran Update Evening Special Report, April 15, 2026 | Critical Threats

European countries are putting together a plan to help free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—without the U.S.

What took so long!!!

"French President Emmanuel Macron said the plan is for an international defensive mission that doesn’t include the “belligerent” parties, meaning the U.S., Israel and Iran. European diplomats familiar with the plan say European ships wouldn’t be under American command.

The goal of the European plan is to give shipping companies confidence to use the strait after the fighting has ended, which officials say could be some time away. Separately, no ships out of Iranian ports have gone through the U.S. blockade within its first 24 hours, U.S. Central Command said.  ..."

Wall Street Journal What's news

UK Prime Minister Starmer keeps saying "It’s not our war" referring to Iran. Really!

What a total fool is this UK Prime Minister?

Is he suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome?

Is he trying to upset the usually very strong and special alliance between the US and the UK?

Source

Iranians rally outside US embassies, consulates around the world

Good news! Why is this apparently not or more reported by Western media so far?

Whether the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran, is a good option for forming the next government of Iran has to be seen. He might be an important person to help form the next government.

"Hundreds of thousands of Iranians across the diaspora rallied outside US embassies and consulates in more than 20 countries on Saturday, calling on the international community to maintain pressure on the Islamic Republic and support the Iranian people.

The coordinated demonstrations, held in at least 34 cities across Europe, Asia, and North America, followed a call by Iranian opposition figure Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. ..."

Iranians rally outside US embassies, consulates around the world | The Jerusalem Post "Protesters sent a unified message to Washington, urging policymakers not to reach agreements with Tehran and instead to “stay the course” in confronting the regime."

People hold signs featuring images of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah and an Iranian opposition figure, during a protest against the Iranian government, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in front of the Iranian embassy in London, Britain, April 4, 2026.

Iran used naval mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz to force ships to use Iranian territorial waters to traverse the Strait

What! That is the first time I learnt about these news while in China!

What the heck are the NATO countries waiting for! Send immediately minesweepers and navy ships to protect the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes!

"Iran is using the existence of an unknown number of naval mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz to force ships to use Iranian territorial waters to traverse the Strait, which enables Iran to shakedown these ships for fees while the ships are in Iranian territorial waters. This protection racket is illegal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Iran likely designed its threatening behavior and its shakedowns to disrupt the global economy, which Iran calculates will enable it to extract concessions from the United States.  Iran warned merchant ships that mines could exist in a “hazardous area” that covers 1,394 sq km of the Strait, including the normal traffic separation scheme (shipping lanes) that ships use to transit the Strait."

Israel Defense Forces dropped 18,000 bombs during Iran war

What a massive attack just by Israel alone! Apparently, the attacks by Israel and the US were well coordinated.

If the combined attacks by Israel and the US were not crippling to the military, the regime and their WMD programs of Iran then what else?

It is now up to the Iranian people to take advantage and to finally get rid of the terrible theocratic dictatorship since 1979.

"These bombs were dropped as part of 1,000 waves of aircraft, with those aircraft flying 8,5000 separate sorties.

During those sorties, there were around 10,800 attacks targeting around 4,000 different targets, collectively comprising around 6,700 different components. ...

In the early days of the war, both Israel and the US were dropping around 1,000 bombs or striking around 1,000 targets daily. ...

For most of the war, the parties also divided up the country by region, with Israel mostly attacking in western, northern, and central Iran, including Tehran, and the US focused more on southern Iran as well as the various waterways."

IDF dropped 18,000 bombs during Iran war | The Jerusalem Post "These bombs were dropped as part of 1,000 waves of IAF aircraft ..."

Italy will not deploy naval vessels to patrol the Strait of Hormuz

Italian Prime Minister Meloni is very disappointing when it comes to Iran.

"... Italy signaled limits to its involvement in maritime security operations. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo ⁠Salvini said on Wednesday that Italy would not deploy naval vessels to patrol the area without authorization from the United Nations. ..."

Meloni: Iran's plan to charge vessels passing through Hormuz may disrupt trade | The Jerusalem Post "Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo ⁠Salvini said on Wednesday that Italy would not deploy naval vessels to patrol the area without authorization from the United Nations."

No, Trump is not committing war crimes in Iran by Michael Rubin

Recommendable!

"One hundred legal scholars signed a letter arguing that President Donald Trump’s threat to target Iranian power plants and bridges could amount to war crimes if carried out. ... 

First ... Few if any of the signatories understand the nuances of Iran or its economy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or its subsidiaries control and profit from the power plants Trump threatens to destroy. That alone makes them legitimate targets.

Since the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, the Revolutionary Guard has expanded its reach throughout the civilian economy, slowly taking over most industries. The independent labor union in Iran erupted largely because the Guard ignored labor regulations, failed to pay salaries, and ignored safety standards. Today, Khatam al Anbiya, the economic wing of the Guard, controls up to 40% of Iran’s gross domestic product. Extracting the Guard’s tentacles from the civilian economy will be the major challenge of the post-Islamic Republic era.

Second, the hypocrisy: If Trump’s mean words and threats of destruction amount to possible war crimes, where have these legal scholars been over the past 47 years, when, on almost every Friday, the Islamic Republic’s leaders led chants of “death to America?” Nor did the Iranian leadership limit itself to rhetoric. Their support for terrorism and proxies across Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people. Indeed, while the American legal scholars salivate about the possibility of labeling Trump as a war criminal, they remain silent that the regime he tries to oust massacred 40,000 over two days in January 2026; launched cluster munitions at Israel and specifically target civilian apartment buildings; and then attacked hotels and economic infrastructure in Gulf Arab states that had not joined the conflict with the U.S. and had forbidden Americans from using their bases. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the targeting of civilian tankers from third nations only adds to the litany of Iranian crimes. ..."

No, Trump is not committing war crimes in Iran | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

Did Trump loose the war on Iran? Really!

Is Iran the winner? Apparently, numerous Western media apparently suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome are very busy to disseminate such absurd stories in large numbers.

Clearly, the military campaign by Israel and the US against weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iran were a great success. Whether the theocratic dictatorship in Iran will survive is still an open question and it is too early to judge.

On possible overdiagnosis of traumatic brain injury in the US military

Yesterday, PBS Newshour aired a long, dubious report about new TBI cases during the ongoing war on Iran. Was this a case of Trump Derangement Syndrome by PBS?

PBS left it very ambiguous about how many TBI cases were actually diagnosed so far in the ongoing Iranian war. 

Since US personnel is not involved in ground combat operations there is actually little reason to suspect any new TBI cases with the exception perhaps TBI affecting those US military personnel stationed and attacked in Gulf States.

Supposedly, there were over 540,000 TBI cases diagnosed in US military personnel since 2020. This seems to be awfully many cases. 

This seems to be a very serious case of overdiagnosing TBI in US military personnel.  The reported TBI symptoms are very common symptoms like headache, dizziness. Apparently, there is no specific, accurate diagnosis available for TBI other than exposure of a soldier to some explosion and these common symptoms.

Iranian hackers are targeting American critical infrastructure, US agencies warn

Was this part of the just agreed upon 14 days cease fire agreement?

"The U.S. government is warning that Iran-backed hackers are escalating their tactics by targeting American critical infrastructure systems with the aim of causing disruption.

In a joint advisory published Tuesday, the FBI, the National Security Agency, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Department of Energy collectively warned that Iranian government hackers have been exploiting internet-facing systems used across a range of sectors. These include water and wastewater utilities, as well as energy and local government facilities. The agencies did not specifically name any of the targets but said that the hacks were aimed at causing “disruptive effects within the United States” and had already resulted in “operational disruption and financial loss.”

The hackers targeted programmable logic controllers and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) products ..."

Iranian hackers are targeting American critical infrastructure, US agencies warn | TechCrunch

An Iranian missile struck a Saudi Arabian air base, damaging several U.S. refueling aircraft

How is this possible? Why was it not prevented? Why are Iranian missiles able to hit multiple targets in the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia.

Have the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia not been buying the latest US weapons for decades?

"The attack also involved unmanned aerial vehicles, they said. Check out what other U.S. military assets have been damaged or lost. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio said ... the war would continue for two to four weeks. ..."

Wall Street Journal What's news

Israeli strikes on a major Caspian Sea port in northern Iran last week targeted Russian support for Iran in the ongoing war

Cause for concern!

Was this a high stakes gamble to target Russia? Good, that Putin the Terrible is bogged down in the Russia-Ukraine War thanks to the very effective Ukrainian defense!

So far World War III (Russo-Ukrainian War by any other name) has been geographically very limited. Will this war expand to other geographical regions?

"... Israeli strikes on a major Caspian Sea port in northern Iran last week targeted Russian support for Iran in the ongoing war ... This report is consistent with CTP-ISW's previous reporting that the IDF struck a Caspian Sea port that Iran uses to trade both military and non-military goods with Russia. The IDF targeted “dozens” of vessels, a command center, and a shipyard at Bandar Anzali Port, Gilan Province, on March 18. The Israeli strike on the port followed reports that Russia has provided Iran with satellite imagery and Shahed drones since the war began. Israeli media reported on March 19 that the Israeli strikes in Bandar Anzali “shut down” a critical supply line between Iran and Russia for both basic goods, such as wheat imports, and military equipment.The Wall Street Journal added on March 24 that Russia uses the Caspian Sea to receive Iranian Shahed drones as well as artillery shells and other ammunition to resupply its troops on the front lines with Ukraine. More than 300,000 artillery shells and a million rounds of ammunition were shipped from Iran to Russia in 2023 via the Caspian Sea, according to unspecified documents seen by the Wall Street Journal."

Iran Update, March 25, 2026 | Critical Threats

Iran launched two ballistic missiles targeting the US-UK base at Diego Garcia

 Wow! These religious fanatics in Iran are showing how dangerous they are!

"Iran launched two ballistic missiles targeting the US-UK base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean on March 21, marking the furthest ever attempted Iranian missile strike. The attack demonstrated that Iranian missiles can reach beyond the 2,000-kilometer limit that the regime has long claimed to have self-imposed. One missile failed inflight, and the United States intercepted the other."

Source: Critical Threats Project, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research 

Why the Taliban Are Now Fighting with Tajikistan

Recommendable!