A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general has threatened to close the Straits of Gibraltar to traffic if the US continues to support Israel’s crusade to root out the terrorists in Gaza.
This threat should not come as a shock to anyone after the flaccid US and EU response to the Houthis in Yemen, an Iranian proxy, effectively closing the Red Sea and, by extension, the Suez Canal to commercial traffic. With two carrier strike groups in the area of operations, the US has stood idly by while drones and missiles attacked neutral shipping, and two ships were hijacked. Since then, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the formation of an allegedly international coalition to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. When that coalition was announced, it became apparent that it was not a serious effort. Since then, the coalition has disintegrated until it consists of two US Navy destroyers and two allied frigates. The primary reason for the failure of the coalition to materialize is that allied nations have made it clear that they will not place their ships under US command.
We need to look at the closure of the Red Sea as something bigger than the Houthis acting out in response to Israel kicking terrorist ass in Gaza. This is a test run of closing maritime chokepoints.
Approved ~ FS
DGM
Article URL : https://redstate.com/streiff/2023/12/24/iran-threatens-to-close-the-mediterranean-sea-to-commerce-n2167913