The clandestine clearing of the Strait of Hormuz mines
[Hat tip: commenter “TJ.”]
This is impressive, if true:
US special forces spent four months conducting a secret mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz in an attempt to open up the waterway, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
Iran has said it placed mines in international and Omani waters following the outbreak of the war. The International Maritime Organization estimated in June that roughly 80 mines had been deployed along important shipping routes.
The covert operation was carried out amid ongoing exchanges of strikes between the US and Iran in and around the Strait, according to people familiar with the mission.
Navy SEAL divers worked with unmanned vessels, robots, and specialized underwater equipment to locate and remove suspected Iranian mines, often operating at night.
Military engagements engender something called the fog of war. This is somewhat different, though – it indicates a secret operation, which are also common in wars. Those who don’t trust the Trump administration or the Jerusalem Post (or the Financial Times?) are free to say the report is a lie. It doesn’t sound like a lie to me.
Others who are against the Iran war will probably dismiss it as irrelevant or unimportant. But to me, it’s emblematic of how much in war goes on outside of our awareness, both good and bad.
Flippers in the water or drones for that matter aren’t the dreaded “boots on the ground.”
Democrats and isolationists are outraged!
As an aside, Tucker revealed he never passed or understood algebra.
Comments from people who have reason to know indicate certain well trained mammals were involved in finding the demolitions.
Keith:
Comments from people who have reason to know indicate certain well trained mammals were involved in finding the demolitions.
————————————-
I knew it!
All that mouth was just a cover – Rosie O’Donnell is really on our side…
Ben David:
The other Great White Whale.
Even if it was specially trained electronic eels I’m not absolutely certain that one has to know about such secrets…
Neo, it is true that so much goes on of which we are unaware. That seems particularly true in this skirmish, or whatever Trump labels it today, as outrageous claims are made on both sides.
Iran threatens massive retaliation, presumably with their secret fly swatters. Meanwhile, Trump, Vance and Bessent tell us time after time that Iran is either on the verge of collapse, or desperate for a deal. I am impressed that either side can make such statements with straight faces. On the other hand, unimpressed with the validity of their bombast.
Over blown rhetoric aside, this report is indicative of the mind boggling capabilities and intestinal fortitude of our Spec Ops folks. It seems that there is no challenge that deters them. I suppose that some, especially our adversaries, would decry a dangerous level of toxic masculinity.
Hah! Ben David, you made me choke on my lunchtime coffee!
I think I’ve read about this before, somewhere. No link, sorry. Among other things the story said some “mines” turned out to be inflated plastic garbage bags.
I saw clips of that preposterous Tucker Carlson spot, concluding with something like only “goyim” use algebra. This guy is now totally nuts. Even I, after not having used math in any organized way for nearly sixty years, can still solve simple algebraic expressions, and sometimes I need to.
I personally use algebra every day: there are so many places in the finance world where it hugely speeds things up, though of course many get by without using it directly.
Related to the Hormuz successes, I believe, from FoxNews: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/iran-backed-attacks-threaten-second-major-oil-chokepoint-new-risk-emerges-us-consumers
The price of oil has slowly been moving higher for several days now. It is looking to me like the whole Strait of Hormuz problem is becoming something of a major fiasco for Trump.
How was this outcome not roughly predictable? Are Trump’s advisors really this bad? Or his selection of them and their information, this bad?
neo’s post is encouraging, and the trend certainly could turn around sometime soon. Not holding my breath.
Maybe the Tucker will now tell us what differential equations are good for (beyond keeping geologists out of hydrology or keeping Project Engineers out of other fields of engineering).
Tommy Jay:
Don’t post anything while your are holding your breath, hypoxia will only make it a worse fiasco.
I recall that the Europeans were going to rush into action in the Straits. Seems like so long ago. I think they called a conference.
The British did send their ship; but it apparently could not get past Cyprus. The French sailed their little aircraft carrier, but it must have made a wrong turn. Maybe in French Polynesia. When it comes to action, there seems to be an eery silence around the world.
Some time ago, Trump said the Straits were not our problem because we have our own oil. He seems to have forgotten that. Now with the Venezuela deal, the status of Hormuz should be even less relevant to us..
If Trump wants to make a deal, he should deal with our own petroleum industry. Maybe a message like, “hey fellas, I have opened up a lot of opportunities for you; so, you have plenty of oil. Never mind the price set by some committee. Gouge the International market for whatever you can; but in the U.S. market you sell at the same price as before February. I am not imposing price controls; but understand this, what I gave, I can take.”
om, But I said I was not! (snicker)
Tommy Jay:
You would not want it to be more of a fiasco than when your blood oxygen level is up to snuff.
Also a bit under the radar:
“The Fall of Ali al-Taher: Hezbollah’s Fortress Built on Denial”—
https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/features/reports/the-fall-of-ali-al-taher-hezbollahs-fortress-built-on-denial
+ Bonus (as long as we’re going behind the scenes…):
“Political warfare against Israel, led by Russia and China;
“U.S. intelligence assessments have determined that the Gaza conflict provides uniquely productive conditions for foreign-influence operations in the West.”—
https://www.jns.org/opinion/richard-kemp/political-warfare-against-israel-led-by-russia-and-china
H/T Powerline blog (for both).
You can’t make an Iranian Omelet without increasing the price of eggs. The average price of a gallon of gas in California is $5.87, still below the $6.59 a gallon I paid in June of 2022. The price of a home in California in 2025 increased by over 30% since 2019, but in the more desirable locations it’s higher than that. We all know food prices skyrocketed during and after Covid19. Meanwhile, Democrats are running on “affordability”, which is ironic considering they want to tear down capitalism. Free stuff is only free because it’s taken from someone who paid for it by taxes.
We have some military people who are amazing. I wish more people would appreciate what these guys do to protect us and others. I think it was Fredric March in a WW2 movie who, after a daring job which resulted in many of their deaths said, “where do we find these guys, where do they come from”? (or words to that effect.)
— Oldflyer
Trump said a lot of stuff about international relations in 2016 and 2024 that were just wrong, and he’s paid a price as President in terms of political capital when he has to go against what he said.
The Middle East is our problem because the world economy and world politics are intricately interconnected. There is, more or less, a single world-wide oil market, and if ME oil is interdicted our oil prices rise, even if we don’t get much if any oil directly from that source. If high oil prices tank the global economy, ours tanks with it, though having separate sources gives some cushion.
Yeah, we’re back to that same old dreary, infuriating ‘world policeman’ thing. There’s simply no escape from it that doesn’t leave us worse off, at least not in the short term.
And yeah, Europe is trying to free ride because they can. Trump has been making efforts to force Europe to carry more of the burden, though.
@ chazzand > “where do we find these guys, where do they come from”?
A not inconsiderable facet of the Left’s march through institutions is directed to ending the supply of those guys.
@ HC68 > “Europe is trying to free ride because they can. Trump has been making efforts to force Europe to carry more of the burden, though.”
“Trying to continue to free ride” I would say, since Trump is working toward cutting them off.
One possibility for reaching his goal is to increase their tariffs and point out that the proceeds to the US are (still) less than the aid we give to them, so we are only helping them pay their fair share.
Or tell them he will drop tariffs dollar for dollar with decreases in said aid.