US Begins strikes on Iran
After multiple previews of the main event, US Central Command said that its forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. "The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression."
Local Iran media reported that explosions had been heard in the Iranian towns of Sirik, Manab, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, while Al Hadath reported than an explosion was heard in the Al-Saban military camp in Aden, Yemen.
Additionally, there are unconfirmed reports that retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile launches are already underway, amidst what appears to be the resumption of a new round of U.S. strikes on Iran.
Hegseth Signals Imminent Attacks On Key Iranian Facilities, Iran Says "Fully Prepared"
Echoing President trump's earlier comments, Sectary of War Pet Hegseth just announced that: "CENTCOM will be busy tonight, we will be hitting Iran hard, we will bomb key facilities in Iran."
As @MarioNawfal writes, Announcing the strikes before they happen is itself the strategy.
You don't telegraph a bombing campaign hours in advance unless the message matters more than the surprise.
This is the final-pressure play in its purest form: the bombs are loaded, the targets are picked, and the paper is still on the table waiting for a signature.
An Iranian military source told Tasnim news that:
"The Iranian armed forces are fully prepared tonight. If the Americans take any aggressive action, they will once again face heavy responses.
The Americans' idea of 'controlled escalation' is foolish, and Iran will not hesitate to dictate new calculations to the Americans."
Oil prices are up at the highs of the day on the news...
Trump says "Secret Mission" has Allowed 200 Ships, 100 Million Barrels of Oil Through Strait
Confirming our reported from both a week ago (see "As Gulf States Plan Bypass Pipelines, US Military Is Quietly Helping Ships Cross Hormuz") and this afternoon ("Growing Number Of Oil Tankers Successfully Sneak Through Hormuz, Shrinking Iran's Leverage") moments ago Trump posted on Truth Social that he had "directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz." Of course, the mission wasn't that secret if we discussed how the US military was helping ship cross the Strait one week ago.
In any case, Trump added that "this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market. More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait," which would explain why oil prices have remained low and confirms what Goldman's Delta One head, Rich Privorotsky, wrote this morning, namely that "a lot has been thrown at the oil market and it’s simply not going up, which is remarkable given the level of escalation. The only conclusion that really fits the price action is that barrels are still getting through the Strait of Hormuz, visibly or otherwise. There doesn’t seem to be a more rational explanation."
"This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran" Trump concluded.
Now the question is whether Iran, whose leverage in the conflict would be viewed as dramatically reduced as a result of this development, will allow stealthy tankers and other ships, with transponders shut, to continue crossing the strait affirming Trump's implicit claim that the country no longer has control over the strait, or if Tehran will make a public demonstration of how much control it still has.
“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. “We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them hard again today.”
Trump declined to say what targets US forces would hit in Iran. The president renewed earlier criticism that Tehran has taken too long to negotiate an end to the conflict.
“I’ve been working with Iran for a number of months, and they should sign their deal,” he said. “It was just tap, tap, tap, I don’t know what they’re doing.”
More strikes coming? Trump is certainly strongly hinting at this, and yet an overall strategic vision still remains murky and ill-defined. Once again he in a short 12-hour period went from hyping a deal being a few days away, to now threatening yet more attack waves on Iran, in wake of last night's:
President Trump said Wednesday that he's close to ordering more strikes on Iran after the country's attacks targeting American bases in Persian Gulf nations, according to Fox News' Trey Yingst.
Mr. Trump said he "may keep going" with strikes, which he said would target power plants and bridges, because Iranian negotiators are "tapping the United States along," according to Yingst.
He wrote on Truth Social just before these comments that Iran will have to "pay the price" after taking too long to proceed with negotiations.
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