Frustrated by Failure, an Unhinged Trump Begins to Tilt as Hormuz Standoff Heats Up
The ‘Special Combat Operation’ continues accumulating unbridled triumphs with Trump’s announcement that he had visited upon Iran’s Kharg island a most biblical of retributions.
The very next day, it was reported by multiple MSM outlets that Iran was shipping oil from the island as normal. Radio Liberty writes:
Following the initial strike, Trump said US forces had “totally obliterated” Iranian military targets on the island but left oil infrastructure untouched. He warned those facilities could also be targeted if Iran disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials claimed crude exports were flowing uninterrupted from the Kharg Island terminal after what Trump described as “one of the most powerful bombing raids” in Middle East history.
In the meantime, an American KC-135 refueling craft went down, with another being struck, for which six American crewmen paid with their lives. Apparently the two craft collided, although there’s speculation it could have happened after one of them veered to dodge incoming fire. Fueling this theory is the fact that flight trackers now show American refueling craft apparently avoiding Iraq, which is where the earlier crash took place:
That’s not to mention that five more such planes were said to be hit on the ground:
Now the high-noon Hormuz standoff has escalated. The biggest story has been Iran’s vindication over its claims that US naval forces had retreated under the growing threat of strikes.
Recall last time we spoke about the ~300km range of Iran’s anti-ship assets, but that Iranian Brigadier General Fadavi stated no US ship was operating within 700km of Iran’s shores.
It seems he was telling the truth, because latest Chinese satellite intel indicates that the USS Lincoln has now retreated to roughly 1,000km from Iranian shores. The Lincoln carrier group is said to be quivering in the lee of Port Salalah in Oman, in the north Arabian Sea:
The supporting evidence comes by way of flight tracking which appears to indicate that air refuelers operating out of KSA are bridging the gap for this extremely long combat radius:
US Air Force KC-135Rs Stratotankers from Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base have been refueling fighter jets from USS Abraham Lincoln this afternoon.
Additionally, a carrier based Osprey craft was spotted right where the Lincoln is said to be idling:
Interesting US Navy CMV-22B Osprey (169456) took off from Prince Sultan Air Base landing somewhere off the coast of Salalah.
This aircraft is assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln ... so this must be its current location.
Operating at such a range likely puts tremendous strain on US airframes, pilots themselves, and other assets, multiplying associated costs.
More interesting is the fact that Iranian officials had claimed the reason for the USS Lincoln’s withdrawal was that it was successfully hit by drones.
From Tehran Times:
Spokesperson of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters (Iran’s military coordination HQ):
The USS Abraham Lincoln was targeted by the naval forces of the IRGC and was rendered inoperable.
The carrier has left the region and is currently returning to the United States.
This was after CENTCOM itself confirmed that a fire had broken out aboard the USS Gerald R Ford, currently hiding way in the rear of the Red Sea. They claimed someone’s undies had caught fire in the laundry room—or some such bafflegab—which if true only advances theories regarding low morale and ongoing sabotage aboard the troubled flagship, which has been plagued by sewage clogs galore after tshirts, mops, and other items were found “flushed” into the system.
The fact is: US’s chief symbols and instruments of global power projection have both been curtailed or outright neutralized by Iran thus far, one relegated to hiding behind Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea 2,000km from Hormuz, the other now shielding behind Oman.
A representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said:
Didn’t Trump say that he destroyed the Iranian fleet? If he has the courage, let him send his ships to the Persian Gulf!
Commander of the IRGC Naval Forces Alireza Tangsiri:
Americans falsely claimed the destruction of Iran's navy.
Then they falsely claimed the escorting of oil tankers.
Now they're even asking others for backup forces.
Of course, we should remind that the Strait of Hormuz has not yet been militarily closed and is merely under control.
As the Iranian Navy commander notes, Trump is now veritably begging allies to come unblock the Strait, blaming them for its closure after the US miraculously “decimated” all of Iran.
Rumors claim he’s been secretly frustrated at his military command for their inability to unblock it themselves:
“At a meeting in the Oval Office last week, a frustrated Mr. Trump pressed Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about why the United States could not immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz.” - NYT
Hilariously, to make up for his ineptitude Trump continues to beat his chest about having “totally defeated” or “wiped out” Iran, while being completely helpless when it comes to the most important objective in the region.
It has turned into a running joke, with Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf ridiculing Trump’s latest outbursts:
For his part, Hegseth has doubled down with an even more ludicrous ‘cope’, claiming the Strait is actually open but that Iran simply refuses to allow ships to pass:
That’s like a jail warden telling prisoners they’re free men, but the only thing prohibiting them from leaving are the iron bars of their cells. What arrant imbecility!
After embarrassingly begging allies and claiming a coalition is being put together to unblock the Strait, Trump was met with France’s refusal to participate. The official rapid response account of the French Foreign Ministry has now stated multiple times on X that the French carrier group will not be going anywhere or participating in Trump’s clumsy unclogging quest.
Britain has likewise already rejected participating in what is sure to be a catastrophic folly—as has Australia—so it’s difficult to guess who exactly Trump has in mind for his ‘Coalition of the Wishful’.
Trump went on to throw another spittle-strewn tantrum, again ranting that the US has destroyed “100% of Iran’s military capability” but that Iran is somehow failing to surrender and is keeping Hormuz shut merely to spite the glorious Alexander-reborn and rob him of his already-attained victory:
It seems no one has informed Iran that it is “defeated”. Maybe once Trump manages to relay this seemingly critical piece of information to the correct channels, Iran will appropriately hoist up the white flag?
Shortly after the above, Trump really tossed his toys out of the pram after filling his diaper with a head-spinning whinge session to outdo all others:
Absurdly, he claims it is Iran utilizing fakes when it has been the White House pumping 24/7 AI agitslop videos, not to mention Trump’s owner sporting six and even seven fingers in his latest PR stunts.
Israeli accounts continue to be caught red-handed with phony old footage, like this repurposed reel from strikes against Lebanon last year:
Trump and his top figures are growing increasingly irate given the escalating failure of their floundering ‘Special Combat Operation’, with Trump snapping at reporters who dared question his sending of Marines for a potential boots-on-ground mission.
Trump is faced with a perilous zugzwang of his own making: back off now and the ‘war’ will be seen as a major Iranian moral victory, as Iran was able to deter the US from completing any of its chief objectives despite a widespread and aimless bombing campaign. But should Trump double down, he faces an even worse catastrophe as the US may get totally exposed militarily, or risk losing ships or even carrier groups for the sake of Trump’s ego. At least were he to back off now, he could semi-plausibly claim victory, despite the prevailing view being that Iran will have been victorious; but it at least could be enough to pacify the numbed and neutered domestics.
But that doesn’t seem good enough for him. Trump is faced with the mother of all sunk-cost fallacies for another important reason: If he were to pull out now, Iran would gain an historic symbol of deterrence against the US. It would expose the US as a paper tiger, which will have generational repercussions: a grand showcase on the world stage of the diminishment of the US’s most hallowed tool of imperial power—its mighty naval forces.
It would usher in an historic turning point moment in the Mideast, destroying the aura of invincibility of the US warmachine built through years of thuggish bullying in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and everywhere in between. Further, it would give Iran the confidence of knowing it could take the US and Israel’s most ferocious attacks, and continue to stand strong. From that point forward, Iran’s defensive posture would likely change for good: imagine knowing you could take your bully’s best shots, and that they were nowhere near as strong as you had feared. It would revolutionize the way you do things.
I have said before, that Iran will actually emerge as a stronger nation relative to the US than before the war. Understand: I don’t mean stronger than the US in general—I mean that Iran will have gained strength, while the US lost some.
The reason is the types of attrition the US and Israel have inflicted upon Iran are verifiably reparable and recoverable: they themselves have admitted that Iran went from 70-90% destruction of its missile launching capabilities to full replacement in just months, since the last war of 2025. Whatever Iran is losing now can be rebuilt by the end of this year.
But what the US has lost is irreplaceable. We continue to receive new satellite confirmations of utterly priceless radars worth billions having been obliterated by Iran’s precision strikes.
Satellite Images Confirm Iran’s Precision Strikes on US THAAD Missile Defense Systems
Newly released satellite images reveal the extent of Iran’s targeted strikes on the American Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar systems in early March 2026, stationed in the UAE, at Al Ruwais and Al Sader bases.
Though it’s to be noted, the above images appear to show “supporting buildings” of the THAAD system, rather than the systems themselves, though some analysts have inferred the radars may have been housed inside, etc.
We know for a fact the US is rushing radars from all over the globe, including South Korea to fill the gaps of destroyed equipment. This proves the US is losing critical capability that will not be replaced for years—and the same goes for munitions expenditures.
As such, Iran stands to emerge from this rebuilt, while the US will have lost critical capability that will weaken its own projection and deterrence for years to come.
This creates a major problem for Trump: he cannot allow the US to be weaker relative to Iran when a hypothetical Round 3 kicks off a year from now, as the US would then suffer an even worse humiliation than is already in progress. Thus, Trump is forced to double-down and continue trying to eliminate Iran entirely, with the preferred method being causing some type of popular revolt that could bring a puppet leader to power over whom Trump would have control. That scenario is about as unlikely as Trump avoiding prison after he leaves office, which is essentially a certainty at this point.
Emblematic of the total aimlessness of the failed operation is Trump’s new quote in an NBC interview. After claiming Kharg Island was “totally demolished”—despite MSM-verified reports of Iran continuing oil shipment there as usual—Trump blandly remarks that he may hit the island again “just for fun”:
The war that’s now claimed the lives of 13 Americans—officially—is all “fun and games” for the sadistically tilted tin-pot conqueror. But the humiliation he will face at the hands of his hubris will live with him forever.
In the meantime, sensing the coming end of its national arc—and its bloodlust somehow still not yet fully sated—Israel has gone for broke and announced a new invasion to seize all of Lebanon up to the Litani River; yes, for the umpteenth attempt. For the task, the colony is reportedly considering a massive new mobilization:
Israel is planning to significantly expand its ground operation in Lebanon, aiming to seize the entire area south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, Israeli and U.S. officials say.
Why it matters: This could be the largest Israeli ground invasion of its northern neighbor since 2006, dragging Lebanon to the epicenter of the escalating war with Iran.
“We are going to do what we did in Gaza,” a senior Israeli official said, referring to the flattening of buildings Israel says Hezbollah uses to store weapons and launch attacks.
Like we’ve been saying for a while now, this is Israel’s last chance at salvation, and it knows it. Israel believes a weakened Iran and a neutralized Syria now allows it to finish off Hezbollah and expand Greater Israel, but the attempt will come at great cost to Israeli society, as per usual—and it will likely fail…again as per usual.
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