00:22The
00:23United States set up a naval blockade in one of the most strategic waterways on the planet.
00:28Warships, destroyers, thousands of personnel.
00:32And within 24 hours, China and Iran sailed right through it.
00:36Not secretly, not at night, in broad daylight.
00:40And the U.S. let it happen.
00:43The Strait of Hormuz.
00:4520% of the world's oil passes through this single choke point every single day.
00:51Whoever controls it, controls a nerve of the global economy.
00:56Right now, America is trying to control it.
00:59But after what happened in the last 24 hours, that control is looking a lot shakier than Washington would like
01:06to admit.
01:08So here's the setup.
01:09After ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran collapsed on April 13th, the U.S. went full throttle.
01:17Naval blockade.
01:18Strait of Hormuz.
01:21The target?
01:22Any ship heading to or from Iranian ports, cutting off Tehran's oil revenue and squeezing them back to the negotiating
01:30table.
01:30CENTCOM deployed over a dozen warships, guided missile destroyers, support vessels, positioned in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.
01:41In the first 24 hours, six merchant vessels got radio instructions from U.S. forces and turned back.
01:48Eight Iran-linked oil tankers reversed course.
01:52No shots fired.
01:53So far, so good for Washington.
01:56And then came the Rich Stari.
01:58The Rich Stari is a Chinese-owned tanker flying a Malawi flag operated out of Shanghai.
02:05And here's the kicker.
02:07It has been under U.S. sanctions since 2023 for shipping Iranian oil.
02:14And it wasn't just the Rich Stari.
02:17Over 20 commercial ships, tankers, bulk carriers, container vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in that same 24-hour
02:25window.
02:27And here's what the data from marine traffic, Kepler and Bloomberg all show.
02:32The blockade has had limited impact on overall strait traffic.
02:36It has deterred ships from docking at Iranian ports, yes.
02:40But a total shutdown of Iran's economic lifeline?
02:43Not even close.
02:47China's response to the blockade was immediate and pointed.
02:50Beijing called it dangerous and irresponsible,
02:53and made clear that its energy cooperation with Iran, its top oil supplier, would not be disrupted.
03:0020 ships in 24 hours.
03:02A sanctioned Chinese tanker sailing through like the blockade didn't exist.
03:07Iran-linked vessels crossing freely, as long as they're not docking in Tehran's ports.
03:13The U.S. has drawn a line in the water.
03:18China just stepped over it, and smiled while doing it.
03:22The ceasefire expires April 22nd.
03:25Talks may or may not happen this week.
03:29And right now, every move in the Strait of Hormuz is being watched by every major power on Earth.
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