—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: President Trump once again claims the Iranian Navy has been completely destroyed, now claiming 158 ships were sunk, while saying that IRGC speedboats were not sunk because ‘they posed no threat’, warning them that they will be destroyed if they approach the U.S. Naval Blockade

@Middle_East_Spectator

Can someone try to sail a ship through the Strait? I want to see if the blockade is working or not. This is boring.

—❗️🇮🇷/🇷🇺 NEW: Russian Mi-28 helicopters, acquired by Iran just before the war, are seen above Tehran

They haven’t been destroyed by the U.S. contrary to claims.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇷 NEW: About 15-20 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 36 hours using the new Iranian-assigned shipping corridor and with IRGC permission after paying tolls

Most of the vessels were Chinese, Pakistani, Russian or Iranian.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇷/🇨🇳 Chinese Defense Ministry:

‘Chinese ships continue to move in and out of the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. We have trade and energy agreements with Iran, which we will respect and abide by.

We expect others not to interfere in our affairs. Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and has opened it to us.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

Possibility of another round of Iran-U.S. talks. Allegedly Thursday in Islamabad.

Very preliminary info.

— 🇮🇷 Scenes from an Iranian cabinet meeting during the war:

Minister: ‘Mr. President, we’ve just been informed hostile aircrafts entered our airspace’ (on their way to bomb)

Pezeshkian: ‘OK, (no problem). So anyway what were you saying?’

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷/🇸🇦 NEW: Less than a day in, Saudi Arabia is pressuring Trump to drop the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, warning that it could push the Houthis to escalate in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab – WSJ

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NOTE: Contrary to reports that Iranian-linked ships are breaking the U.S. blockade, the opposite is true; ships originating in Iranian ports are being turned away

The misunderstanding stems from the fact the U.S. blockade is not located directly near the Strait of Hormuz, but a little further away in the Gulf of Oman / Arabian Sea.

This has led to some media claiming that Iranian vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz, such as the ‘RICH STARRY’, which spoofed its location and pretended to be a Chinese tanker originating in the UAE.

This vessel did indeed cross the Strait of Hormuz, but was immediately ordered to turn around when it entered the Gulf of Oman.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— Ships are being ordered to turn around in approximately this area.

The U.S. Navy is likely positioned several hundreds of nautical miles away, in the Arabian Sea.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— An American naval blockade definitely and without ambiguity deserves an Iranian response (which Khatam Al Anbiyaa HQ also stated). Simply ignoring it sends a weak signal.

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇱/🇦🇪 NEW: Coinciding with CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper’s visit to Israel, a senior UAE military official also landed in Tel Aviv

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: Iranian sources say that nothing is confirmed about a new round of talks with the U.S. and nothing has yet been agreed

@Middle_East_Spectator