Sadly, even with that news, our country still remains divided over both the logistics of how this war is being fought and who is actually the one calling all the shots and why no matter that some interesting but not unexpected developments have occurred, including that the much ballyhooed Trump re-initiated blockade of the “Strait of Hormuz” is back in full operational mode.
And while I admit that I have not been pleased with some of the decisions Trump has made, here I must come to his defense in regards to the fact that many nations, including some of our allies, continue to condemn his reinstating of the blockade.Why so...because I truly believe that they do not understand the cause and effect legalities involved. For example, while “The International Law of Naval Warfare (LONW) governs actual armed conflict at sea, it's the“Law of Armed Conflict” (LOAC) that dictates hostilities, distinction, and the proportionality of war, and that both do combine together to meld into the “United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” (UNCLOS). And while it's this law that requires “unimpeded passage” through the “Strait of Hormuz” and other what are deemed to be “vital and neutral waterways,” there is caveat in these laws which states as long as the nation initiating the blockade respects the terms as written in the “San Remo Manual” that they are legally able to do so.
So what exactly is this all important “San Remo Manual”...which President Trump surely had to know about...but a list of demands including that both“belligerent and neutral states” be made fully aware of the fact that a blockade was to be put into effect; that said blockade would be effective in its endeavors; that the blockade can be enforced impartially against vessels from all nations both friends and foes alike; that the blockade is not being put into place for the sole purpose of starving civilian populations; and that humanitarian relief and aid must be allowed to reach said civilian populations if they have not already been adequately provided for.
And while President Trump, I'm sure has followed the letter of the law in regards to the “San Remo Manual”...Secretary of State Marco Rubio would most assuredly see to that..I'm just as sure that Iran has not and likely never will follow said manual. Why so...because their actions already taken... actions clearly in direct violation of said manual...are there for all to see. And this includes Iran's so-called “indiscriminate mining” of the Strait minus their having not given the “San Remo Manual” required “notice of hazardous zones” to those involved; coupled with their also having not taken the much needed precautions to safeguard civilians when they originally started mining the Strait. Now add in the fact that Iran also did not comply with the required tracking of those mines nor did they issue the also required mariner notifications...again as per the “Sam Remo Manual.”
So while President Trump was not just right, but legally right, in his reinstating the “Gulf of Hormuz” naval blockade, he was, in my opinion, totally wrong in even thinking of selling U.S. F-35 jets to Turkey...Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey. Why so...because Erdogan's no longer being veiled anti-Israel rhetoric regarding the “Jewish State” being an “existential and genocidal threat to the region,” has become not only a growing destabilizing factor in and of itself, but poses numerous security and geopolitical risks not just to Israel but to our country and our other allies as well.
How so...because with Turkey continuing to operate the Russian S-400 air-defense system, this alone could possibly allow Russia to study and then compromise the F-35's actual stealth capabilities. Trump should know this as well as he should know that 2017's “Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA) was designed to penalize not reward countries that engage in “significant business transactions” involving the defense or intelligence sectors operating under Russian technology...as does Turkey, Iran, and North Korea.
But Erdogan knew exactly how to bypass this law by his“reportedly” transferring Turkey's S-400 defense system to a yet to be disclosed Gulf state, while at the same time relishing in the fact that Trump has already announced plans to lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey. Nothing like stabbing our ally Israel in the back yet again...nothing like hoping to successfully “pull the wool' over Trump's eyes.
So now as I write this, Erdogan is still hoping to make the F-35 deal with Trump...our president who sadly still does not fully understand the ideology nor the objectives of Islam. And Erdogan will happily sign on the dotted line with fingers crossed behind his back as Israel...as Netanyahu...who is vehemently opposed to this deal...gets stabbed in the back once again.
And lost in this, a war now seemingly going nowhere fast, has been the outward voices of both Russia and China...the voices of both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping...who one would think would play a big yet albeit silent part in our war with Iran especially with both countries trying to make inroads into the Middle East.
So here let's start with Russia and Vladimir Putin by first understanding that Russia has maintained somewhat of a delicate balancing act in the Middle East by having friendly and growing trade and other relations with Israel coupled with Putin having a friendship of sorts with Benjamin Netanyahu in spite of Russia's military ties with Iran...or as Putin calls it, “a nuanced relationship.”
Economics folks...simple economics helps to drive wars forward or keeps them contained...and economics more times than not does determine which side of a war a country will or will not be on.
And that which is economics worked in our, Israel's, and Russia's favor here. How so...because Putin was well aware that with almost two million people of Russian descent...people who fled to Israel from what was (thanks to Reagan) the then fallen Soviet Union...people who economically flourished in Israel...people who sent money home to family still in Russia in an effort to help keep alive their cultural ties to Russia. And this in time saw Russia opening the door to a modern day melding of cultural and economic ties with Israel, which aided Russia economically and on the global political front. How so... by not only helping to preserve Russia's Middle East geopolitical influence, but by it helping to temper down what Russia deemed to be “international economic alienation.”
So with Russia also being culturally and of course economically way more like Israel than it is Iran, and with trade relations with Israel now proving to be extremely beneficial to Russia as it helps with the economic drain the Ukraine war is putting on Russia's economy...Putin was wise enough to see that making amends with Israel was not only the right thing to do but that outwardly supporting Iran was far from a smart idea.
So for his and Russia's sake, Vladimir Putin wisely chose to be a somewhat “neutral observer” rather than his having to choose a definitive side to be on in regards to the Iran war. And know that if Putin had outwardly chosen to side with Iran that this war could well have included actual flashpoints between the U.S. and Russia as well...flashpoints whose outcome need not be said.
And so Putin being an “observer” rather than a player has helped to keep this war somewhat geographically contained...a good thing indeed.
Now in regards to why Xi Jinping and China, who also could have been a key player in the Iran War but thankfully is not, that too on some level is because of simple economics coupled with China's growing concerns that any assistance they could provide to Iran, while it might aid Iran’s ability to retaliate in the short term, it could end up involving China in a war with the U.S. either militarily or economically which surely would not be advantageous for China.
So now it seems that as the war continues on that what China wants is a “flexible alignments over the formal defense alliances that America has long prized.” And while China has, at times, openly condemned America and Israeli strikes and actions against Iran, it chooses instead to remain busy expanding its economic ties with Iran’s neighboring Gulf States in hopes of at least neutralizing America's regional influence.
Also, China remains very busy keeping an eye on Taiwan, while at the same time constructing what they call a “no limits” partnership with Russia to help in the reconstruction of a postwar Ukraine...that is if Russia wins said war. Simply, the current mindset of China remains that of "strategic ambiguity" in hopes of maintaining and then expanding trade ties with what they consider to be Middle East power brokers, which in turn would directly aid in growing China's economy.
Simply, like with Russia, China favors looking out for itself rather than wasting monies on giving material military support to Iran.
And so Iran is basically on its own, but with the mullahs now saying they will fight to the death, maybe President Trump should start worrying about just how...bio-weapons perhaps...and who will go down with them. Case closed.
Copyright @ 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.
************************************************************************************************** For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Hormuz and Beyond.
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