block the Strait of Hormuz? I thought he wanted it open!
Well, he didn’t. Or he changed and made it more specific.
But the situation was that Iran wanted to selectively block the Strait. Their “friends” (China in particular) who paid the extortion money would have NO problem. OTOH, anyone who sided withe the United States could not pass. The Mullahs would decide who could use the waterway and who couldn’t.
And of course the United States objected very strongly to such an arrangement. They would not let stand the policy that Iran’s friends could use the waterway, but those they disagree with could not. So now, everyone is blocked from using it.
And in any case, the United States is making a mint out of this. Trump made a great call on this! It damages Iran and China, and boosts the United States. THAT is a pretty good outcome…
So we aren’t closing the Strait, we are blockading Iranian ports. This means that Iran won’t be able to sell any oil. Two countries will be hurt: Iran and China, which buys 80% of Iranian oil. The Gulf States will be able to ship their oil through the Strait as soon as they choose to do so.