Talks Failed, So Now We're Blocking Every Ship in the Strait of Hormuz

When talks fall through at this diner — say a big party doesn’t show, say a vendor cancels — what we do is adjust. We make do. We do not announce a complete blockade of the parking lot.

The talks in Pakistan fell apart. Iran will not give up its nuclear program. That is a real problem and I will not pretend otherwise. Hard situation. Genuinely difficult. People smarter than me have been failing to solve it for decades.

What the President of the United States decided to do about it was go on Fox News and announce that the U.S. Navy will now be intercepting every single ship that has paid a toll to Iran through the Strait of Hormuz. Every ship. The whole Strait. Blockaded. On Fox News.

He also said any country that tries to help Iran will get fifty percent tariffs slapped on them. Fifty. Any country.

The United Kingdom said it would not be joining.

Now, the UK is one of our oldest allies. They have fought alongside us in more wars than I can name off the top of my head. And their response to this announcement was, essentially: we’re going to go ahead and sit this one out, thanks.

When the British tell you you’ve gone too far, you have gone too far. The British invented going too far. That is practically their national heritage. If they are stepping back and making a polite face, something has gone sideways.

Twenty percent of the world’s oil moves through that Strait. Just so you have that number. One in five barrels. And we are going to park the Navy in the middle of it because the talks that Kushner was leading went badly.

I am going to need a bigger coffee pot.

You want yours refilled before the price of everything goes up again?