Originally Posted by
larssnowpharter
The mutual defence pact is the recent one but the Saudi funding, as far as I know, has never been proven. Money circulation - in the Middle East especially - being a bit on the murky side. As to being surrounded, Pakistan might be a tad anxious about Iran having nuclear weapons this leaving it with a nuclear armed neighbour on two borders.
True. I had heard that within the last week or so some Pakistani military folks were deployed to Saudi in response to some of the attacks from Iran...will check on details later.
Originally Posted by
dead_pan
That suggests that there was considerable forethought and strategising. I think it more likely this was more an unplanned windfall for the US.
Plan. There may or may not be one.
The U.S. Navy says its blockade on Iranian ports has turned back six vessels in the first 24 hours of its operation, including a Chinese ship that appeared to successfully exit the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday but then was later tracked back in the Persian Gulf. The
Rich Starry, a chemical and crude oil carrier sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2023 for trading with Iran, was among more than a half-dozen vessels which
attempted to cross the strait on the first day of the blockade.
On Tuesday morning, ship-tracking sites showed that the vessels had passed through the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman, appearing to defy U.S. warnings. At least four had come from stops at Iranian ports.
But it became clear the evening that they had been intercepted by the U.S. military blockade in the Gulf and turned around.
A U.S. Navy destroyer stopped two oil tankers attempting to leave the Iranian port of Chabahar on Tuesday and instructed them to turn around, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The U.S. Central Command says it has deployed more than a dozen warships and hundreds of sailors to enforce the operation.
{I guess from the report that they did in deed turn around}
Hmm, the blockade isn't a bluff, but I don't think the last card has been played yet. I expect an Iranian response soon...but I will bet on something asymmetric.