HOW THE U.

HOW THE U.S. IS BREAKING IRAN’S GRIP ON THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

For years, Iran built a myth around the Strait of Hormuz - that it could close this critical waterway and that America would be unable to stop it.

The U.S. was initially caught unprepared. But while much of the world was talking about an unbeatable Iranian blockade, CENTCOM and the U.S. Fifth Fleet were quietly dismantling it.

Iran never needed to sink every tanker. Its strategy was to hit enough ships to frighten shipping companies, crews and insurers away.

It relied primarily on five tools - mobile radars, drones, cruise missiles, fast boats and naval mines.

CENTCOM responded with a strategy of systematically blinding Iran.

Large Iranian radar installations were relatively easy to destroy. Iran then relied on mobile radars mounted on trucks that would briefly activate, locate ships and disappear.

But every transmission exposed them.

U.S. forces systematically hunted these radars and other sensors. Hundreds of precision strikes gradually degraded Iran’s ability to detect and target ships in the strait.

At the same time, unmanned vessels searched the shipping lanes for naval mines and neutralized them. Eventually, the Fifth Fleet declared the southern route near Oman cleared of mines.

Then came the convoys.

Tankers and merchant vessels began moving through the southern corridor under the protection of Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The convoys reportedly sail mainly at night with AIS transponders switched off, making them much harder for Iran - and civilian tracking services - to locate.

From above, drones and Apache helicopters provide additional protection, including APKWS-guided rockets capable of engaging drones and other threats.

Washington also reportedly provided financial guarantees to participating ships, helping offset soaring insurance costs and convincing shipping companies to return.

And it worked.

More than 8 million barrels of oil per day are reportedly moving through Hormuz again. Add pipelines and alternative export routes, and estimates put total Gulf exports at roughly 10–13 million barrels per day.

That’s still below the roughly 21 million barrels that moved through Hormuz before the war - but enough, together with changes in global supply and demand, to prevent the catastrophic energy crisis many predicted.

Oil prices have risen, but nowhere near the predictions of $150+ per barrel and a global economic depression.

Iran’s strategy depended on fear.

Blind its sensors.
Clear its mines.
Protect the tankers.
Reduce the financial risk.

And the blockade begins to collapse.

The war against Iran is not over. Ultimately, victory will come only when the ayatollah regime falls.

But the battle for Hormuz appears closer than ever to being decided.

Iran tried to hold the world’s energy supply hostage. America is systematically breaking its grip.

(Tamir Morag)