February 15 – The Middle East has two strategic straits: The Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb.
Bab-el-Mandeb connects the south side of the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
The Hormuz Strait connects the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf. The Hormuz is one of the most strategic waterways across the world.
Approx. 90% of the oil export of the Persian Gulf and 50% trade deals of the region pass through this waterway
In the past 4 decades, the mullahs ruling Iran have proven that they have no reservations in creating insecurity in the region and disrupting the flow of oil and trade transactions in these waterways.
Tehran’s political and military control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a lever of pressure for the rulers of Iran.
In a speech in Switzerland, Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani threatened, “There’s no point in Iran not exporting oil and the rest of the region exporting oil.”
Hossein Sheikholeslam, Tehran’s former ambassador to Syria, directly threatened Saudi Arabia and said, “The Yemenis have proven that they have the capacity to infiltrate Saudi soil… Their new drone evaded radars and reached Riyadh and targeted the Aramco refinery.”
“The Samed drone is the new tool that can change the equation in the region. This drone has the capability to target anywhere in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia and bring them to their senses. It has the capacity to bring the threats of Mr. Rouhani to reality.”
This Iranian diplomat/terrorist suggested that intensifying terrorist activities will result in change in the behavior of Washington, and suggested attacking two Saudi oil tankers as a message to the U.S.
Sheikoleslam describes the Iranian regime’s proxies such as the Houthis and Hezbollah as the “specter of Tehran” over the enemy in the region.
While the Iranian regime continues its destabilizing activities, the strategic waterways of the region won’t be reliable channels for conducting business and trade.
And that behavior will only go away when the Iranian regime is overthrown and is replaced by a state that respects international norms and values.
