Trump's blockade, China, and Lebanon...
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 1:57 PM
Friends + Interlocutors,
Like most people, I was confused by President Trump's declaration that Washington was blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Iran already had the waterway blocked, except for ships from countries friendly to it. So Trump was piling on to sink the world’s economy?
You’ll recall a few weeks ago, while the missiles were flying, Trump said he was lifting oil sanctions on Iran so it could export its own oil out of Hormuz. This was in response to the surge in world oil prices and the future corresponding jump in U.S. inflation.
Trump’s new proclamation is a volte face: the U.S. will now block Iran’s oil shipments through Hormuz, but will somehow allow transit both ways for all other ships going to ports other than Iran. Really? Something like that. In effect, we have two blockades.
I read this morning that two Iranian oil tankers have passed through and are headed for China. Trump wants them stopped. He may try. China is Iran’s biggest customer. Trump's latest move could be viewed as a direct challenge to China.
It could also be viewed as a way to restart the kinetic war on Iran. At the moment neither Tel Aviv nor Tel Aviv’s proxy, Washington, is bombarding Iran. Is Trump daring Iran to fire on the U.S. Navy when the USN attempts to enforce the Trump blockade?
In that event, Marco Rubio and Trump would declare this to be a breaking of the ceasefire, giving Trump an excuse to complete the destruction of Iran on behalf of Netanyahu, the U.S. Israel Lobby, and Trump’s billionaire Zionist backers.
In the meantime, Israel continues bombarding Lebanon. No pretense of a ceasefire there. Professor Josh Landis, leading expert on Syria, brings that atrocity into focus. He is joined by Professor Mearsheimer in an interview.
Patrick
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