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 My son has narrated the last book I wrote. Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too. (Click HERE) World & Nation Ships 'Go Dark' in Hormuz as US Blockade Spurs Vessels to Evade Detection  Maritime intelligence firms are reporting a surge in evasive shipping tactics in and around the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S.-led blockade targeting vessels linked to Iranian ports, raising new questions about enforcement and the flow of energy exports through one of the world's most critical chokepoints, The New York Times reported. Ami Daniel, chief executive of maritime analytics company Windward, said that ships in the region have increasingly begun "going dark" or broadcasting false identities in the past 24 hours, signaling a shift in behavior after initially operating without disruption in the wake of the late-February U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. "Now, we are starting to see vessels going dark or using 'zombie' or random identification," Daniel said, describing a pattern in which ships disable or manipulate their automatic identification systems (AIS), the global tracking technology required under international maritime law.
Trump says US could ‘take’ Iran’s uranium after strikes: How it would work War secretary cites operational security when asked about accessing nuclear material at Isfahan complex during Operation Epic Fury  President Donald Trump said the U.S. would "take" Iran’s enriched uranium if necessary — raising questions about how American forces could physically secure the material after strikes on nuclear sites. "Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, and we're going to get the dust back. We'll get it back. Either we'll get it back from them or we'll take it," Trump said at the White House Monday, referring to Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles. The comments also come after high-stakes negotiations between the United States and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend ended without a deal, with disputes over uranium enrichment and control of nuclear material at the center of the impasse. With diplomacy stalled, a key challenge remains: airpower can damage nuclear facilities, but physically locating, securing and removing enriched uranium would require a far more complex operation. Iran Threatens to Stop Trade in Red Sea, Persian Gulf  Iran's military has threatened to block marine traffic in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman if the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues, escalating tensions in an already volatile region and raising alarms about global trade and energy supplies. According to statements carried by Iranian state media and reported by multiple outlets, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, a senior commander in Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that continued U.S. enforcement actions against Iranian shipping could trigger sweeping retaliation. "If the aggressive and terrorist America continues its unlawful actions of maritime blockade in the region and creates insecurity for Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers, this action will be considered a prelude to violating the ceasefire, and the powerful Armed Forces of Iran will not allow any kind of export and import to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea," Abdollahi said, NBC News reported.
VP Vance Says US-Iran Mistrust Can't Be Solved Overnight  Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday there was a lot of mistrust between Washington and Tehran that cannot be resolved overnight, but he added that Iranian negotiators wanted to make a deal and that he felt "very good about where we are." Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. A fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran still has a week to run. Vance was involved in the talks last weekend in Pakistan.
In letter to Xi, Trump asks China not to send weapons to Iran  President Donald Trump says Chinese leader Xi Jinping responded to his warning about Iran, insisting Beijing is not supplying weapons as the two prepare to meet. President Donald Trump says he warned China against supplying weapons to Iran, and Chinese President Xi Jinping responded with a claim he was "not doing that." "He responded to a letter that I wrote because I had heard that China is giving weapons to — I mean, you're seeing it all over the place — to Iran," Trump told FOX Business' "Mornings With Maria" on Wednesday. "And I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that essentially he's not doing that." Iran to execute the first woman over widespread anti-regime demonstrations  Iran’s barbaric regime is set to execute its first female protester over recent protests, one of an estimated 1,600 sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic in the past year. Bita Hemmati is the first woman due to be hanged in relation to the demonstrations that broke out in January across the country and were viciously stamped out by government forces. The regime accused her of numerous crimes, including using explosives and weapons, throwing objects such as concrete blocks, participating in protest gatherings, and disrupting national security, according to a Tuesday press release from the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Bita Hemmati is the first woman to be sentenced to death in Iran over protests in the country earlier this year. Her husband, Mohammadreza Majid Asl, 34, as well as two other men, Behrouz and Kourosh Zamaninezhad, who lived in the couple’s apartment building, were also sentenced to death following a hasty trial and their property confiscated. A fifth defendant, Hemmati’s relative Amir Hemmati, was sentenced to almost six years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” as well as “propaganda against the regime.” US destroyer interdicts two oil tankers attempting to leave Iran: official
Trump predicts Iran war is ‘very close to being over’ after telling The Post peace talks resuming soon Trump says China agrees not to send Iran weapons — and predicts Xi Jinping will give him ‘big, fat hug’ Spanberger signs gun bills, makes a proposed gun ban even harsher Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon warned Virginia: Second Amendment 'shall not be infringed'  Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a series of gun-control bills Tuesday, toughening a proposed assault-firearms ban before sending it back to lawmakers, which drew immediate backlash from Republicans and is likely to draw a constitutional objection from the Justice Department. The Democratic governor’s changes to House Bill 217/Senate Bill 749 remove the word "fixed" from part of the bill’s definition of an assault firearm, which could sharply expand the range of semi-automatic rifles and pistols swept into the ban, Republicans say. Vance anti-fraud task force suspends 447 hospices in Los Angeles over more than $600M in suspected fraud White House warns fraudsters they cannot hide as suspension numbers and dollar values 'are only going to increase'  The anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance has suspended 447 hospices and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud in Los Angeles, with a total fraud estimate of more than $600 million. The number of suspensions is roughly a 539% increase from the 70 reported by Fox News Digital at the beginning of April. "Where there is fraud, the task force will find it," a spokesperson for Vance told Fox News Digital. "We will not stop until every hard-earned taxpayer dollar goes toward the honest Americans who deserve them." A White House official doubled down on Vance and the task force’s commitment to root out fraud, and sent a stark warning to those suspected of fraudulent activity. Bessent: Economic Growth Will Be Slower This Quarter Amid Iran War  U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the economy will be slower this quarter amid the Iran war, but it is in good shape and will rebound, adding that oil prices do not appear to be weighing on inflation expectations. In an interview on CNBC, Bessent said micro data points on the U.S. economy were great and the Treasury Department would watch retail gasoline sales for consumers. "We'll be looking at Treasury to try to keep the retail gas stations honest -- that you did this on the way up, better be doing this on the way down," he said.
Hegseth, 'Gang of Eight' to Discuss Defense Budget Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will meet Monday with the "Gang of Eight," the top Republicans and Democrats on the Armed Services and Defense Appropriations committees, to discuss the Pentagon's proposed $1.5 trillion budget, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., told The Hill. President Donald Trump's request to increase the budget is the largest in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs. The sizable increase for the Pentagon, some 44%, had been telegraphed by the Republican president even before the U.S.-led war against Iran. Trump's plan would also reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10%. Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told The Hill the figure is too high and unrealistic.
Blockade 101: American sea power on display as Trump corners Iran and warns off China China imports about 11M barrels of oil per day, with 90% moving by sea routes the US Navy now controls By Rebecca Grant
At this moment in time, President Donald Trump has control of the Strait of Hormuz. His short-term goal, of course, is to pressure Iran’s leaders to give up their nuclear ambitions. Yet Trump’s blockade is also a major geopolitical hammer on China. For now, oil and petrochemical shipments will flow out of that waterway only under the rules of the U.S. Navy. All China can do is watch. "If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea," Trump wrote. "It is quick and brutal." Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander, United States Central Command, has come up with a brilliant plan to pin down Iran while leaving Gulf states free to resume shipping. "The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," U.S. Central Command said. Stop calling this brinkmanship. Trump's Hormuz move is the real pressure President Trump did not arrive here without exhausting every alternative. The blockade is the logical next step between failed talks and resumed strikes By Jason D. Greenblatt
The critics erupted again the moment President Trump ordered a naval blockade, cutting off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has been controlling access to. Brinkmanship, they said. Dangerous escalation. These are the same critics who condemned the war from day one. But here is the truth they keep avoiding: the United States, Europe, the Gulf states and Israel have all been in a shadow war with Iran for decades. Every administration before this one too often chose to manage the threat rather than resolve it. Sanctions here, a diplomatic communiqué there, a weak JCPOA that kicked the can down the road. The regime did not moderate. It never was going to. The Islamabad talks did not fail because of a trust deficit, a phrase analysts deploy to suggest the problem is one of communication rather than intention. Enemies do not trust each other. That is the definition of the situation, not an obstacle to overcome. The talks failed because Iran believes it is winning. Despite the extraordinary achievements of the United States and Israel, which significantly degraded Iran's nuclear program and dismantled key elements of its leadership and military infrastructure, the regime has not broken. You cannot fully defeat an enemy willing to burn the house down around itself. Following those devastating strikes, one Iranian analyst, Nasser Torabi, declared on state television: "We have now entered a new stage in the history of Iran as an international superpower, and we will be recognized as a global superpower." Iran came to those talks not to make peace but to press its advantage. It seized the Strait of Hormuz as its most powerful weapon, betting that cheap drones, proxy networks and control of 20% of the world's oil supply gave it enough leverage to outlast a president it believes is watching the midterms. It rejected zero enrichment on Iranian soil and refused to relinquish control of the world's most critical waterway. The two sides were not close. |
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