US Navy blockade on Iran: Could economic squeeze force a policy shift — or 'regime change'?
The US naval blockade of Iran has effectively halted the regime's oil exports as well as local fuel supplies . Washington and allied analysts frame it as an economic weapon — a pressure campaign intended to either compel a change in Tehran’s policy on the Strait of Hormuz or contribute to broader political change inside the Islamic Republic. ‘Indefinite’ Iran blockade: Why it changes the equation…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran that it would lose oil tankers if it continued to try to attack US warships. According to Rubio, for every attempt Iran makes to hit US naval ships, it will lose tankers.
The US Central Command reported that it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers in response to Iran targeting a US navy warship. The tankers destroyed were the Kivik, Charminar, Horizon 1, Riesco, and Derya, located in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The crews of the vessels were told to abandon ship before the attacks.
The US strikes come after a series of escalations between the US and Iran, including attempted attacks on a US warship by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Iran's claim to have seized an advanced submarine drone, which the US Central Command said had malfunctioned. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has threatened to respond to the US strikes.
Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, The Korea Times, The Times of Israel — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
