CNN has once again found itself targeted by the Trump administration after publishing a report that Trump had underestimated Iran’s response concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
The network, which has been no friend to Trump during his time as president, claimed the administration was not ready for Iran to block the Strait.
The White House blasted the report, calling it fake news, just as Trump called for other nations to start pitching in.
Virtually the only card that Iran had to play in this conflict was to choke off the Strait to prevent ships from passing through. Iran activated that playbook almost immediately, firing missiles at oil tankers in the area as well as several other attacks against shipping vessels.
Trump suggested that the Navy may start escorting ships through the Strait, but companies continue to have problems having their ships insured if they are using this waterway.
Neil Quilliam from the Chatham House think-tank explained, "No ship wants to pass through there and no insurer wants to insure those ships that are passing through there. This is the scenario that we've all been predicting for a long time - the closing of the strait - which is a nightmare.”
I can verify these challenges, as I have a friend who works in the shipping industry, and she is having a nightmare getting her company’s products shipped through this area due to the fact that no insurer will cover these shipments.
Once again, the administration was hit by a report from anonymous sources on CNN who claim to be “familiar with the matter, stating that the administration 'failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.'"
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly fired back, "The idea that chairman Cain and Secretary Hegseth weren’t prepared for this possibility is PREPOSTEROUS.” She then added, "The President was fully briefed on it, and a goal of the Operation itself, to annihilate the terrorist Iranian regime’s navy, missiles, drone production infrastructure, and other threat capabilities is quite literally intended to deprive them of their ability to close the Strait."
CNN was then forced to eat some crow, reporting, "This story has been updated to reflect additional developments and clarify that top Trump administration officials briefed lawmakers on long-standing military plans to address a major disruption to the Strait, according to one official, but that multiple sources familiar with the session said there was no indication there were any near-term solutions."
As noted before, Trump has offered escorts, but now he is also demanding that allies and other countries that benefit from goods going through this waterway send ships to help the US defend it.
Democrats, of course, are licking their chops over this, with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) posting, “On the strait of Hormuz, they had NO PLAN,” US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote in a post on X. “I can’t go into more detail about how Iran gums up the Strait, but suffice it [to] say, right now, they don’t know how to get it safely back open.”
This is not just a dig against Trump, but against every military leader involved in the operation. It’s idiotic, at best. Trump has since called on other nations to help, stating, “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint will send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated.”
He later added, “In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!”
Since Trump’s call to arms, the UK has already stated it is now considering sending ships to the area. There will surely be more to come, as Trump has been very good at pressuring allies in this situation. This is not a situation I expect to last very long, as far too many nations rely on that waterway for key goods, including oil.
