Iran Opens a New Front in the War
Emboldened by its success -- that's right, its success -- in its war against the US and Israel, Iran has opened a new front on which to do battle. It's the undersea fiber-optic cables that run along the floor of the Straight of Hormuz. Specifically, Iran said yesterday:
"Iran has the right to exercise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, including over the fiber-optic cables laid in it."
In normal times, about $1-$2 billion worth of oil in tankers transit the Straight. Under water, through these cables, over $10 trillion in daily financial transactions flow; including high-frequency trading data, interbank transfers (SWIFT), and the backbone of cloud infrastructure for tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and AI hubs. These cables connect Asia, Africa, Europe, the Gulf States, India, Egypt, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong, and more.
With Trump utterly failing to open the Straight no matter what he tries or threatens, Iran is feeling its oats and asserting its power over these cables too.
Just as they are developing a system to charge tanker tolls, they're now talking about licensing fees, protection fees, maintenance monopoly, compliance with Iranian law, and other such mechanisms regarding these cables.
Iran has no right to assert such things, but empowered by a weak and clueless Trump, they feel free to do it anyway. And let's also remember that Trump had no right to attack Iran and thereby start this war. Trump has established the permission structure for Iran to press these claims. That permission structure did not exist before Trump started the war but it does now.
The problem behind all of this is Trump himself. He thinks he can defeat Iran with WW II tactics. Apply military force until your enemy succumbs. Iran is more clever. They have been preparing for decades to fight a 21st-Century war in which light force, applied with precision, produces asymmetric consequences.
Trump spends billions to bomb Iran in hopes of getting them to surrender. Iran spends a fraction of that and brings multiple nations to their economic knees. Trump is trying to fight a military war. Iran is fighting -- and winning -- a financial war.
PS. The three US Navy destroyers that were in the Straight before have fled after being targeted by Iranian missiles which were intercepted. The Straight remains functionally closed.
Emboldened by its success -- that's right, its success -- in its war against the US and Israel, Iran has opened a new front on which to do battle. It's the undersea fiber-optic cables that run along the floor of the Straight of Hormuz. Specifically, Iran said yesterday:
"Iran has the right to exercise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, including over the fiber-optic cables laid in it."
In normal times, about $1-$2 billion worth of oil in tankers transit the Straight. Under water, through these cables, over $10 trillion in daily financial transactions flow; including high-frequency trading data, interbank transfers (SWIFT), and the backbone of cloud infrastructure for tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and AI hubs. These cables connect Asia, Africa, Europe, the Gulf States, India, Egypt, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong, and more.
With Trump utterly failing to open the Straight no matter what he tries or threatens, Iran is feeling its oats and asserting its power over these cables too.
Just as they are developing a system to charge tanker tolls, they're now talking about licensing fees, protection fees, maintenance monopoly, compliance with Iranian law, and other such mechanisms regarding these cables.
Iran has no right to assert such things, but empowered by a weak and clueless Trump, they feel free to do it anyway. And let's also remember that Trump had no right to attack Iran and thereby start this war. Trump has established the permission structure for Iran to press these claims. That permission structure did not exist before Trump started the war but it does now.
The problem behind all of this is Trump himself. He thinks he can defeat Iran with WW II tactics. Apply military force until your enemy succumbs. Iran is more clever. They have been preparing for decades to fight a 21st-Century war in which light force, applied with precision, produces asymmetric consequences.
Trump spends billions to bomb Iran in hopes of getting them to surrender. Iran spends a fraction of that and brings multiple nations to their economic knees. Trump is trying to fight a military war. Iran is fighting -- and winning -- a financial war.
PS. The three US Navy destroyers that were in the Straight before have fled after being targeted by Iranian missiles which were intercepted. The Straight remains functionally closed.
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