US Tightens Blockade on Iran: US Warplanes Strike/Disable 3 Ships Over 3 Days

• the US has escalated its blockade on Iran by striking and disabling 3 Iranian commercial vessels over the course of 3 days using inexpensive and plentiful 20mm cannon fire and standard guided missiles;

• this comes at a time when reports indicate the US has seized several ships, turned back dozens of others, while a nearly equal number have passed through the US blockade;

• the US tightening of its blockade in this manner both demonstrates a capacity to disable ships in large numbers at will, created deterrence against Iranian ships seeking to run the blockade, and avoids rapid escalation and market price fluctuations that might disturb Washington’s controlled demolition of Middle East energy exports and placing Asia further under US energy dependence;

References:

Army Recognition – US Navy launches first F/A-18 strafing attacks against Iranian tankers in Gulf of Oman (May 9, 2026):
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/…

USNI News – USS Tripoli, 31st MEU Heading to the Middle East (Mar. 13, 2026):
https://news.usni.org/2026/03/13/uss-…

Guardian – US military seizes Iran-flagged ship trying to pass strait of Hormuz blockade (Apr. 20, 2026):
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2…

Reuters – Exclusive: US intercepts three Iranian oil tankers in Asian waters, sources say (Apr. 23, 2026):
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-…

FT – Iranian tankers bypass US blockade (Apr. 21, 2026):
https://archive.ph/GaTLm#selection-19…

RAND Corporation – Extending Russia (2019):
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand…

Brookings Institution – Which Path to Persia (2009):
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/…

BBC – How US Marines are being reshaped for China threat (2023):
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-can…

Daily Beast – Iran Trolls Trump With Claim He Is Gaming the Markets (Mar. 30, 2026):
https://www.thedailybeast.com/iran-tr.