Bobby. wrote on Mar 4
th, 2026 at 5:03pm:
petrol could soon hit $3 per litre.
A small price.
The New York Times wonders, “Who Is winning the War in Iran?” A couple of days ago, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth offered a clue: “We’ve decided to share the ocean with Iran,” he said. “We’ve given them the bottom half.”
True, Iran continues to lob missiles and drone swarms at Israel and at its Arab neighbors. Most are neutralized. A few get through. Last week, an attack inflicted serious damage on an important energy installation in Qatar. Perhaps the most surprising development was Iran’s launching two ballistic missiles at the U.S.–U.K. airbase in Diego Garcia. Apparently, one failed in mid-flight, the other was intercepted. Diego Garcia is nearly 4,000 kilometers from Tehran. A few weeks ago, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said that his country had deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 kilometers. Oops. Turns out that was a fib. If Iran has missiles that can travel 4,000 kilometers, that means they have missiles that can target cities in Western Europe. As one commentator observed, “A 4,000-kilometer capability changes the map.”
Major European capitals begin to enter the conversation. Paris comes into range. London moves much closer to the edge of vulnerability depending on launch point and payload. This would mean the missile threat is no longer confined to the Gulf, Israel, or parts of South Asia. It would mean the radius of deterrence, defense, and fear has expanded dramatically. . . . Diego Garcia was not just a target. It was a message.
That is worth bearing in mind when confronting people like Joe Kent, the now-former counterterrorism official who maintains that Iran is not an imminent threat to the West. The long-range missiles are one threat. So are the 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. With a few more turns through the centrifuge, that is enough, Iran’s own negotiators acknowledged (or perhaps bragged), for 11 nuclear bombs.
Iran is an atavism with nuclear ambitions. The United States has a serious national security interest in frustrating its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Those countries that depend on Iran’s oil—not the United States, by the way—have a serious national interest in making sure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for the passage of that black gold. The Iranian people have a serious existential interest in ridding their country of the oppressive theocratic regime of the mullahs.
On Friday, Donald Trump said that “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran.” Some people think that Trump was signaling his impatience with the war. I think that what he went on to say puts paid to that idea. Our military efforts, Trump said, include:
(1) Completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them. (2) Destroying Iran’s Defense Industrial Base. (3) Eliminating their Navy and Air Force, including Anti-Aircraft Weaponry. (4) Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability, and always being in a position where the U.S.A. can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place. (5) Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others.
The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it—the United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them.The United States and Israel began their operation against the Iranian regime just three weeks ago. Iran’s military movements now resemble the movements of a frog’s legs during dissection. The legs may twitch, but the frog isn’t going anywhere. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel continue to search for and destroy weapons storage and manufacturing facilities and anything having to do with Iran’s nuclear program. Early yesterday, we again struck a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. On March 13, a 2,500-man Marine Expeditionary Force left Okinawa for the Persian Gulf. It is due to arrive any day. Its object? The consensus is Kharg Island at the north end of the Persian Gulf. Some 90 percent of Iran’s oil passes through Kharg Island. Secure that, and the regime starves.
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Petrol could hit $3 per litre (Read 12186 times)
