Normally ships use a two-lane shipping channel in the middle of the strait. But increasingly, vessels are taking a different route, to the north around Larak Island, placing them in Iran’s territorial waters and closer to the Iranian coastline. ............ Entities that want their vessels to safely pass through must submit their details to what Lloyd’s List Intelligence refers to as “approved intermediaries” of the Revolutionary Guard, including the cargo, owners, destination and a complete crew list. Approved vessels receive a code and are escorted by an IRGC vessel. Oil is prioritized and vessels are subject to “geopolitical vetting,” Lloyd’s said. ....... “While not all ships are paying a direct toll, at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said, referring to the Chinese currency. ........ Some ships appear to have been allowed through following diplomatic pressure. Two Indian vessels loaded with liquid petroleum gas have been able to pass, according to Lloyd’s. ......... On Tuesday, the IMO received a letter from the Iranian government saying it “had implemented a set of precautionary measures aimed at preserving maritime safety and security.” The letter claimed Iran was acting within the principles of international law. ........ Iran’s parliament appears to be working on a bill to formalize fees for some ships in the Strait of Hormuz, local media reported. ......... The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi saying “parliament is pursuing a plan to formally codify Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees.” .......... The IMO has condemned the attacks on vessels and called for an internationally coordinated approach to secure passage through the strait that respects freedom of navigation........
An Emirati oil executive calls Iran’s chokehold ‘economic terrorism’
............ The comment by Sultan al-Jaber, who leads the massive state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., signaled the hardening rhetoric of the United Arab Emirates as the war nears its one-month mark. ......... “Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation,” al-Jaber said in a speech for an event hosted by the Middle East Institute in Washington........... “It is economic terrorism against every consumer, every family that depends on affordable energy and food. When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy,” he said. “No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way.” ............. Article 19 of the U.N.'s Law of the Sea Treaty states that countries must allow “innocent passage” of peaceful, law-abiding vessels in their territorial waters.......... “There’s no provision in international law anywhere to set up a toll booth and shake down shipping. … This is Iran using the element that they have right now, which is control of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University in North Carolina.
Moral Clarity
This is the most important thing. Iran has a long-standing, publicly stated, official goal of eliminating Israel. Not defeating the Israeli Army. Not conquering Israel. But ending Israel. Think Hitler but not with gas chambers. With an atom bomb. What is missing? The bomb. Just in this March 2026 war, Iran has not hesitated. It has shown it will go to any length. It does not distinguish between military and civilian.
But they are targeting Israel. That is Israel's problem. Really?
The office of the Ayatollah does not make him head of state of Iran. That office claims all earth. Look at how it has attacked its neighbors. It is vocal about kicking out the US from the region and bringing all nearby nations under its thumb. But they are also Muslim. No, they are not. Not according to the Islamic Republic. Being a Muslim is a verb. You obey. If you don't obey, you are not a Muslim. Who do you obey? The Ayatollah obeys Allah. You obey the Ayatollah. That is who.
Who is Allah? Allah does not exist. There is no Being called Allah anywhere in the earthly or the spiritual realm. Allah is not even The Devil. The Devil does exist. The Devil is a spiritual being. Allah does not exist.
Allah is The Devil having distorted who or what God is. The Devil has managed to sell the Muslims the Brooklyn Bridge.
Most Muslims think Allah is God. Allah is not God. God is God. God exists. God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. Allah as described in the Koran is not omnipotent. Allah does not seem to have the power to enter human history, for example.
There is no historic Muhammad.
Runners run. Swimmers swim. Prophets prophecy. What prophecies have been attributed to Muhammad? There are none. Isaiah was a prophet. Some of his prophecies are still coming true today.
The whole world owes it to the Muslims to help see the light. Most Muslims think Allah is God. Allah is not God.
But they are only bothering their neighbors. Really? They have blocked the Strait. They are strangling the global economy. It is the Islamist aim to conquer all earth through fear. Not love and persuasion, but fear. That has always been the playbook. Become Muslim or die. Stay Muslim or die.
Stop saying this is Israel's war. This is not Israel's war. Israel just so happens to be at the forefront of it.
This is a classic fight between good and evil. And the best references can be found in the Ramayana (7,000 years ago) and the Mahabharata (5,000 years ago). The truly evil do not reason. The truly evil fight to the finish. And so you fight. To the finish. You fight to win. You achieve moral clarity, and you fight. To the finish.
This age of darkness that has gone on for more than 5,000 years now is about to end. That is what this is about.
Courage To Act
Once you have achieved moral clarity, and you have exhausted all possible peaceful ways of resolving the conflict, you fight. Show the courage to fight. War has to be the weapon of last resort. No war, never, under no circumstances is lack of courage. It is also lack of moral clarity.
The Islamic Republic was given the option. It couuld have agreed to end its nuclear program. If it still wanted nuclear energy, it could have received nuclear fuel from Russia. It could have agreed to curb its missile program. It could have agreed to end the proxy program. It could have agred to not kill peaceful protestors. It refused to give an inch on any of the four.
That made war unavoidable.
You don't fight because you are stronger. You fight because you have moral clarity, and you have exhausted all peaceful options.
Tactics
You can achieve moral clarity. You can have the courage to act. But those are not enough. Tacitcs are their own thing.
Many critics who are military experts are saying the US is fighting like this is World War II. Iran's capacity to strike with missiles and drones seems to be very much intact a month later.
The mightiest military in world history burning more money on defense per year than is the GDP of most countries can not end Iran's capacity to fire missiles and drones? What is going on? The mightiest military can not open up the Strait? What's going on?
Strategy
There are those who say, Obama already figured this out. Not true. So you get the Islamic Republic to agree to not enrich Uranium beyond a certain threshold. But the infrastructure they build for it allows them to enrich it to 60% and beyond if they want to. So how is that a curb? Also, you lift sanctions, and the money they make allows them to fund Hamas and Hezbollah to the hilt, and the Houthis. It allows them to build underground missile cities, and hypersonic missiles that hold the entire region hostage. With hypersonic missiles and drones, and movable launch pads and underground cities, Iran has now held the entire world hostage by blocking the Strait. Right now it is in a mood to make that permanent.
So, no, Obama did not take care of it. Obama did many good things, but lifting sanctions on Iran was not one of them.
Tactics do not deliver the results if the strategy is not sound. That is where political leadership comes into play. That is where military leadership comes into play.
Bad strategy is if all possible scenarios were not war gamed. Years in advance. It is hard to imagine they were not. Bad strategy is airports across America in utter chaos. The whole world is watching. Bad strategy is that your NATO members are miffed, for whatever reason. Bad strategy is that Lesotho got hit with tariffs that the US Supreme Court found illegal.
The United States as a government can exhibit moral clarity on the Ismalimc Republic, and can be wrong on 10 other questions of public policy.
Bad strategy is the four agenda items are lopsided. Yes, nukes. Yes, missiles. Yes, proxies. But what about the Iranian people?
Stragey is not what you had the day before the war begun. Did you pass the exam? No. Strategy is dynamic, just like war is dynamic. There are so many moving parts, not least of them the markets and the opinion polls.
Strategy is where this war will be won or lost. Strategy decides if this war lasts a few short weeks, or a few suicidal months.
The biggest strategic mistake has been made by the Iranian diaspora. On February 14, 2026, that diaspora did something no diaspora has done ever before. Close to two million Iranians took to the streets in every major part of the world. That is strength. That is political consciousness. But it fell short. It has not yet made the effort to achieve moral clarity. Protesting Iranians should not be killed. True. But why? That is what they signed up for. Muslims don't protest. Muslims obey. When you cease to obey, you cease to become Muslim, and are worthy of death. You signed up for it.
The onus is not on the Iranians inside Iran. The onus is on the Iranian diaspora. You have the right to free speech, you have the right to peaceful assembly.
Those who go to the streets to protest are petitioning the Ayatollah for liberty. That makes zero sense. He can not grant you liberty, but you can. Break your bond with The Devil. Renouce Islam. Islam is the anti-religion. Islam is the religion of The Devil.
Imagine Russian dissidents fleeing to the West in 1987 and remaining die-hard communists!
At his juncture, a negotiated end to the war that opens up the Strait would be great, if possible. With the US military staying put. But it is not looking too possible.
And so we have to shift to tactics. The US military needs to simply win. Needs to open the waterway. Needs to send in some ground troops to take over one node in its underground command center to take down all of them.
One possibly great strategic move could be that the US declares a unilateral ceasefire to last four weeks, and renewable, with the provision that if peaceful protestors are attacked, the US will automatically swing into motion to target the attackers, those goons on motorbikes.
Only the Iranian people can ensure victory in this war.
