Bartelds

@bartelds.bsky.social

3697 Followers 5305 Following

Formerly with Dutch military intelligence (MoD) and counter-terrorism (MoJ) Former optimist (Opinions are mine, usual caveats apply, etc.) Re-posting is not by definition endorsement

The president could up the ante with close escorts of traffic using American warships. Experts estimate it could take two ships to escort a tanker, or a dozen for each convoy. Navy officers warn Iranian drones and anti-ship missiles have the potential to turn the area into a “kill box” for U.S. forces.
At the extreme, Trump has the option of a large and costly ground operation to seize the territory around the waterway, whose rocky shores present unique challenges. That would require thousands of troops in an operation that would likely take months.
Iran has been preparing for a possible invasion since before the war. The paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has 190,000 troops, along with the country’s regular army, and specializes in fights against better-armed foes.
(...)
More than 20,000 airstrikes, and the lure of billions of dollars in sanctions relief and unfrozen assets set out in Trump’s initial peace deal, have failed to convince Iran to relinquish control of the strait.