Iran begins to consolidate victory after Trump waves the white flag

The Persian Gulf at night, viewed from space, August 31, 2020. Most of those lighted areas now cannot ship oil and natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz without paying Iran a big toll.

In “Iran Tightens Its Grip on Hormuz Despite Cease-Fire”, the Wall Street Journal’s Jared Malsin, Summer Said, and Rebecca Feng report today that Iran is continuing to throttle the Strait of Hormuz by allowing only a dozen or so tankers a day through the strait, and by charging tolls. Only four tankers went through today.

Iran continues to broadcast over marine radio that tolls are required and that ships will be destroyed if they don’t pay the tolls.

Ships containing Iranian oil or goods pay no tolls. Ships from the US or Israel, or from countries aligned with the US or Israel, are blocked completely.

Tolls are paid in Chinese yuan, or in cryptocurrency. The toll is about $2 million for a supertanker.

The WSJ reporters write:

The closure is driving a global increase in food prices and broader consumer price inflation.

This is a strategic defeat for the US and its remaining allies. There’s no way to sugar-coat it.