Iranians snatch up a tanker, U.S. breaks out harsh language

(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Seems like everyone’s getting a little froggy thanks to us having our feckless POTATUS at the helm of our ship of state.

Iran seized a US-bound oil tanker off Oman on Thursday, saying it had crashed into an Iranian vessel leaving two crew missing – the latest disruptive incident in the crucial but troubled waterway.

The US Navy demanded the immediate release of the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, saying it was transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman and slamming Iran’s “continued harassment of vessels”.

…The latest flare-up comes only days after Tehran’s Western rivals toughened sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Fifth Fleet initially blamed the Revolutionary Guards, but then said the capture was carried out by Iran’s navy.

It identified the vessel as the oil tanker Advantage Sweet and said it issued a distress call during the seizure.

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The Headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet issued some stern language aimed at the Iranians, which boiled down to “Dammit, quit doing that, give it back“…

…while taking some serious heat about the incident themselves. This is not a good look if true.

I realize tensions are high, but they’re mostly high because we are toothless and everyone knows it. All the bad actors are feeling their oats and using poke sticks to see how far they can push things.

…And Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, while Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment either.

Thursday’s hijacking was one of a number of incendiary moves made by Iranian forces in recent months as tensions continue to boil over Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.

As well as illegal seizures, there have also been a series of explosions in the region that includes the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow section of the Persian Gulf which a fifth of all traded oil passes through.

Don’t think for two seconds every last one of them hasn’t taken note of what is currently not happening in Sudan, from the U.S. perspective. How it seems like every last nation on Earth, except what used to be the most fearless and powerful, has scrambled resources and every available asset to get their citizens out of that hellhole.

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The Chinese had, like, 1000 people. They managed to scrape up both buses and boats.

Neat, huh? Oh, seems like everybody’s busy doing the right thing…

…and we’re derp derp derp.

Why wouldn’t Iran kick some sand in the Navy’s face? They’ve got Biden’s number on speed dial.

…Meanwhile, talks over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal have been stalled for a year. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran runs advanced centrifuges and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned that Iran has enriched enough up to 60% purity — a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

That would be sufficient for Iran to make several nuclear weapons if it chooses to do so.

I’m sure the Iranians are feeling pretty bulletproof at the moment and no doubt there are more regimes like them emboldened every day.

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The answer to any “Whachoo gonna do big guy?” scenario involving Americans sure appears to be “A whole lot of nuthin’.”

None of this bodes well for Americans around the globe.

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