Donald Trump’s latest strategy to ramp up pressure on Iran has been dealt an embarrassing blow after several ships defied his blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
Multiple Iran-linked tankers—including sanctioned ships and a Chinese-linked tanker—transited the vital waterway within hours of the U.S. Navy’s blockade taking effect.
The news raised immediate questions about the effectiveness of Trump’s plan, which was announced on Sunday after the collapse of U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.
I think he can have this one, enforcing this blockade seems like a surefire way to spark up larger conflict
Sure, it’s good it isn’t enforced, but it shows how stupid he is. You don’t make a threat that you aren’t willing to follow through on. If you do, and they call your bluff, they aren’t going to take the next threat seriously either.
This is why the TACO thing is so important. None of his threats are credible anymore, so they don’t have any power. Trump thinks he’s strong, because he makes threats. Previous administration made far fewer, but they were credible, so they actually had power. Trump is like a child in that he thinks he can just make threats and get his way all the time. It’d be really sad if it weren’t so damaging.