“On to Richmond!” —the battle cry from the North in the spring of 1861— fueled a march south expected to bring a quick, decisive end to the Civil War. Instead, the Union Army suffered a crushing defeat at Bull Run and retreated to Washington with the clear realization that a long war lay ahead. More than quick, aggressive military action, strategy would be necessary to defeat the South. Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda Plan” aimed to strangle the South economically through a naval blockade and other means. Similarly, the air war in Iran, which has been brilliantly executed, led some to have high hopes for a swift victory through decapitation. The Pentagon obviously has myriad plans for various contingencies, but as of now, the decapitation has not killed the beast. One of those strategies should include implementing an Anaconda Plan to cut off the Iranian regime’s funding that fuels its nuclear ambitions, funds its terror proxies, and suppresses the Iranian people. We shouldn’t destroy infrastructure and just declare victory and go home. Currently, our stated goals are to dismantle missile production and its industrial base, the Iranian Navy, and key sources of power, such as IRGC bases. This is a conventional approach to an unconventional problem. It is only part of the solution. The Iranian defenses are distributed and irregular, a so-called “axis of resistance”—Hezbollah, Shiite militia in Iraq, Houthis in Yemen—and are difficult to defeat conventionally. Paradoxically, destroying facilities in Iran only activates their networks, which will fight asymmetrically. The regime’s revenue, mainly through oil, powers all of it. Economics—the collapse of currency that led to hyperinflation—spurred the recent protests of the Iranian people, and economics are vital to overthrowing the regime. Disabling, seizing, or destroying their oil infrastructure is essential to defeating the regime and restoring power to Iran’s people. Remarkably, the Iranian regime is still supplying oil—even after the start of Epic Fury. Like Venezuela, seize all oil transports and ghost tankers. Capture, disable, or, as a last resort, destroy the facilities at Kharge Island, their Achilles’ heel, which accounts for up to about 90 percent of Iranian oil products. Cut off the rail and port traffic in the north, which transports much of their weapons and drone revenue to Russia. Diversify the assault by continuing to attack the regime’s financial assets and other means of evasion, such as using client states to launder their money. Fight irregular warfare with irregulars.Unleash Special Operations to arm the Iranian people and also eliminate the remnants of the Iranian nuclear program.The United States has over 250 years of irregular warfare experience, including many tactics America pioneered. We also need to complete the primary mission. Commando raids could be used to ensure the destruction of the Iranian nuclear ambitions and the capturer final destruction of enriched uranium. Authoritarian regimes are fragile. The same economic problems that plagued the Iranian regime before Epic Fury have now worsened, damaging their economy by tens of billions of dollars. The IRGC, without oil revenue and other funding sources, is a zombie regime. However, if the revenues used to support Iran’s terror empire are not cut off, they will just rebuild. Driven by personal revenge, the new alleged supreme leader will continue Iran’s 48-year-long war to spread the revolution, attempt to destroy Israel, and bring more death to America. There are times in history when allowing an evil terrorist state is incompatible with a free world. Led by President Trump, the United States, Israel, and their allies have taken the first brave steps in finally ending this one. Let’s not stop until this diabolical regime is completely vanquished. Patrick K. O’Donnell is a bestselling, critically acclaimed military historian and a leading authority on American elite and special operations units. The author of fourteen books, including The Unvanquished, The Indispensables, The Unknowns, and Washington’s Immortals, he is a senior fellow at Mount Vernon and has received numerous national awards. O’Donnell served as a combat historian with a Marine rifle platoon during the Battle of Fallujah. He is a director and the historian for The OSS Society and is a professional speaker who frequently lectures on America’s conflicts, espionage, special operations, and the Revolutionary War. He has provided historical consulting for DreamWorks’ award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers and for documentaries produced by the BBC, the History Channel, and Discovery. @combathistorian COMMENTS Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.