No. of Recommendations: 11
Are we. I keep reading about the mighty Iranian fleet of Zodiacs cowing the US Navy into merely conducting Freedom of Navigation before turning tail and running away.
Where are you reading that?
Because in your mind the French Navy, the Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet or whatever they call it now has so much capability above and beyond what we have that they'd be able to handle this?
No. I don't think any naval force has the ability to "handle this" - including our own. Or more specifically, no naval force has the ability to handle this without incurring non-trivial losses, which none of the countries in this discussion - including the U.S. - want to suffer.
What would be the point of driving through the strait right now?
To try to open the strait. Again, we're staring down the barrel of a global energy crisis, to say nothing of the shortages in helium and fertilizer and other important industrial components that are sourced from the Gulf. If we could open the strait with minimal losses, we would have. We haven't, though. Which is why we keep pointing out to you that Iran has all the capabilities they need to have in order to keep the strait forced closed.
