America’s War on Atomic Capabilities and Iran’s Threat To Free Navigation Is About To Escalate

As America strikes the Islamic Republic’s nuclear arms remnants and its control of maritime chokeholds, an escalating military “operation” in Iran is inching ever-closer to a full fledged war. American forces are striking Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps assets to end an Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. A day after Saudi Arabia struck targets in Yemen, meanwhile, top Tehran officials ratcheted up threats to enlist their Houthi allies to block Red Sea shipping. In addition to free navigation, President Trump is indicating for the first time that America plans to “take out” Iran’s most protected nuclear facility. Known as Pickaxe, the facility south of Tehran consists of two tunnel complexes dug deeply into a granite mountain. Unlike other nuclear facilities in Iran, American and Israeli bombings have so far wreaked little, if any, damage on Pickaxe.Since Gulf hostilities ended a month-long fragile ceasefire last week, Iran struck Kuwait, Bahrain, and other Gulf countries that host American bases, including Jordan. Perhaps fearing that Israel would rejoin the war, though, Iran so far refrained from attacking the Jewish state, although the U.S. Central Command increasingly relies on Israel for staging Iran sorties. Israelis are eagerly taking summer vacations, as discount airlines serve the country following a long absence due to war conditions. As dozens of American refueling jets, though, are stationed at Ben Gurion airport, though, Israelis fear crowding the small gateway would lead to flight cancellations. Easter way, the growing number of refueling jets is an indication of a major escalation in the Iran war, including strikes against the Pickaxe facility. Pickaxe is “a possible target for a nice big fat shot right near the front door,” Mr. Trump told podcaster Hugh Hewitt Monday. “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready.” America is watching Pickaxe intently, Mr. Trump said, adding that as yet there’s no sign of movement there.Mr. Trump “should not give Iran the opportunity to finish a hardened nuclear site where it could resurrect new enrichment and weaponization capabilities,” a nonproliferation scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, Andrea Stricker, tells the Sun. If America’s so-called bunker-buster bombs cannot destroy the deeply-dug Pickaxe, Ms. Stricker adds, other options must be considered — including boots on the ground in “a raid to disable the facility, which is risky to military personnel.” Another option, blocking access to the facility’s entrances was employed elsewhere by America and Israel last summer, including at Isfahan, where much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium was stored.As battle intensifies over Hormuz, meanwhile, a top aide to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamanei has threatened Tuesday to shut down Bab el Mandeb, the narrow entryway to the Red Sea. “If Iran is willing to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, how long before the Houthis decide, to once again mirror their benefactor, their mentors, their idols in Tehran, and try to shut down the Red Sea?” America’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told the body’s security council on Tuesday. The Houthis are already denying passage at the Red Sea to Israeli ships. Somaliland is offering to its Israeli allies the use of its bases across from Houthi positions near Bab el Mandeb. On Monday Saudi jets bombed Sanaa airport, where Iranian planes frequently deliver arms for the Houthis. Hours later, though, an Iranian plane landed at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah, as if to defy the Saudis. “The Houthis have already shut the Red Sea for us, so why wouldn’t they block Bab el Mandeb for everyone?” a Yemen watcher at Israel’s Open University, Inbal Nissim-Louvton, tells the Sun. “They’d rather not fight Americans, but for months, propaganda is growing in their media outlets.”As America seems to make progress in opening Hormuz, Mr. Trump is retracting an idea he floated on Monday. After initially proposing that for keeping Hormuz open, America would charge a 20 percent toll, the president now says, “I don’t think anybody should charge a fee” there. Instead, he said, Arab Gulf countries will reciprocate by investing “heavily” in America. Meanwhile, “we’re getting rid of the bully of the Middle East,” Mr. Trump said as he welcomed Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, to the White House. “We have been knocking the hell out of” the Iranian military, he added. In a Thursday nationally-televised address, though, Mr. Trump is widely expected to announce further escalation in the war.

America’s War on Atomic Capabilities and Iran’s Threat To Free Navigation Is About To Escalate

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