Posted on 05/04/2026 5:40:53 PM PDT by Libloather
American attack helicopters sank six Iranian small boats in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday — as the Trump administration works to back the regime into a corner — forcing it to choose between allowing ships through the strait or attacking them and provoking a return to war.
Two US-flagged cargo ships successfully passed through the strait as part of a new American initiative, “Project Freedom.”
Frustrated by the lack of progress with Iranian negotiators, Trump is allegedly forcing Iran’s hand by deploying US warships directly into the Strait of Hormuz to escort neutral vessels that have been trapped in the Persian Gulf for over a month.
“The president wants action. He doesn’t want to sit still,” a senior US official told Axios. “He wants pressure. He wants a deal.”
The president’s calculus is hedging on one of two outcomes, the first being to call Iran’s bluff and prove that the Strait of Hormuz is safe to navigate across.
The second, however, is to force Iran to act first and attack, giving Trump the legitimacy he needs to restart the conflict and achieve his war goals by force, Axios reported.
“It’s either we’re looking at the real contours of an achievable deal soon, or he’s going to bomb the hell out of them,” the senior official added.
Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command, said the Hormuz has been cleared of all mines and that US fighter jets, helicopters and ships would be open to traffic.
Despite the president’s threats, neutral cargo ships traveling near the Strait of Hormuz have come under fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Indeed.
Dealing with the Strait of Hormuz issue is decades overdue. It needs to ultimately be rendered redundant.
Indeed.
“In terms of mines, I’m not going to talk about specific capabilities. You know, they all have varying degrees of influence. I think the key thing about mines is that we have cleared an effective pathway for ships to lead. At this point, for the first time, there seems to be great enthusiasm to do that, but we’re going to stay in contact with the commercial shipping and support them along the way.”
Adm. Brad Cooper (CENTCOM) on the missiles and drones fired at our ships today as well as the "fast boats" that tried to attack our escorted ships:
“The cruise missiles were going after both U.S. Navy ships, but mostly after commercial shipping. We defended both ourselves and, consistent with our commitment, we defended all those commercial ships. We had drone launches against commercial ships, all of which were defended against, consistent with our commitment, and then the small boats were all going against commercial ships, and all were sunk by Apaches and Seahawk helicopters.”
Also of note, our ships are now operating inside the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf):
“Yes, we have gone through the Strait today. As we sit here right now, we have multiple U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers operating in the Arabian Gulf.”
In the Bush years the Democrats were happy when soldiers died because it gave them talking points. The Democrats today are also doing that but they seem to be additionally giving aid to the enemy that I’ve never seen before. The Democrats and the media are the most dangerous weapons the Iranians have. It’s not even just the craziest of the bunch like it seemed to be in the Iraq days. It seems to be every single Democrat except the Senator from PA. Crazy
Now exactly how was the Stait cleared of any mines since we have no mind sweepers in the area. We had four that were decommissioned months ago.
Also, there’s no way naval forces could get into that area without being attacked by Iranian weaponry.
Trump says Iran and U.S. are working to remove sea mines from Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. Navy has one littoral combat ship built for mine clearing, as well as other military assets in the region capable of doing that work. The Navy has dispatched two additional mine-clearing ships from Japan that are heading to the region.
None of that is true. Iran and the U.S. are not working together on anything.
I’m thinking our president will ultimately do something to rectify this situation; just don’t know when, but I hope it is soon.
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