US Considers Plan To Disrupt Iran's Oil With Navy Interventions On High Seas
The Trump White House is currently considering a plan that would take the recently reinstated 'maximum pressure' campaign back to the high seas, akin to Trump's first term as Commander-in-Chief.
This would involve US Navy ships stopping and inspecting Iranian oil vessels transiting the sea under an international mechanism aimed at thwarting 'spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs),' sources in Reuters said. This had been done at times under Biden as well.
The idea is to crack down once again on Iranian oil sales in order to cut off crucial funding for Iran's nuclear energy program, which both Israel and Washington suspect could easily be converted to an atomic weapons program.
'Trump officials are now looking at ways for allied countries to stop and inspect ships sailing through critical chokepoints such as the Malacca Strait in Asia and other sea lanes. That would delay delivery of crude to refiners. It could also expose parties involved in facilitating the trade to reputational damage and sanctions,' the sources told Reuters.
'You don't have to sink ships or arrest people to have that chilling effect that this is just not worth the risk. The delay in delivery… instills uncertainty in that illicit trade network,' one source clarified.
The legal mechanism reportedly being examined goes all the way back the 'war on terror' 2003 Proliferation Security Initiative, which seeks to prevent the trafficking of WMDs. (Nevermind that the Bush-era 'Iraqi WMDs' scare was based on a complete myth and lie advanced by the NeoCons at the time).
'This mechanism could enable foreign governments to target Iran's oil shipments at Washington's request,' another source told Reuters .
The Biden administration had at times also sought to seize Iranian oil shipments, especially to disrupt sales in places like China, or also Syria.
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