31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Commandeers Ship Trying to Slip Past US Blockade

RedState 

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) released dramatic video Tuesday showing U.S. forces commandeering a vessel in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean. The ship was suspected of trying to sneak past our blockade, but quickly found out that was a poor choice:

Earlier today in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded M/V Blue Star III, a commercial ship suspected of attempting to transit to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. forces released the vessel after conducting a search and confirming the ship’s voyage would not include an Iranian port call.

American forces continue to operate and enforce the blockade across the Middle East. So far, 39 vessels have been redirected to ensure compliance.

It’s all part of our effort to choke the Islamic Republic of Iran economically after they have consistently refused to agree to acceptable terms for a peace deal.

The U.S.’s economic strangulation of Iran continued when U.S. Marines from the 31st Expeditionary Unit fast roped onto the M/V Blue Star III in the Persian Gulf, after it was suspected of trying to travel to an Iranian port. The video posted by CENTCOM showed Marine helicopters taking off from a U.S. Navy ship in the dawn hours on Tuesday, landing a squad of Marines directly onto the cargo containers of the ship.

As RedState’s streiff reported Sunday, President Trump canceled a visit by a U.S. negotiating delegation because the Iranians clearly weren’t serious about coming to a deal:

President Trump has told… [Fox News’] Aishah Hasnie that he has canceled his envoys' trip to Pakistan to hold talks with Iran. Aishah Hasnie sending us this direct quote from the president:

"I've told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, 'Nope, you're not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing'."

However, reports on Tuesday indicate that Iran may be coming back to the table, presumably because they’re getting desperate:

Iran is likely to send a revised proposal to end the war with the U.S. within days, according to reports.

Pakistani mediators will be involved in the process, The Times of Israel reported.

The move came after the U.S. said Iran's latest proposal fell short because it did not include provisions preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Citing unnamed sources close to the mediation process, the report said the process of devising a new offer is expected to be slow because of difficulties in communicating with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is injured.

Until there’s some sort of breakthrough, however, ships attempting to slip by our blockade should do so at their own peril. 

Trump told aides to prepare for lengthy Strait of Hormuz blockade, WSJ reports

 Trump decided that putting pressure on Iran’s ability to export oil was less risky than resuming bombing or extracting the U.S. from the conflict entirely, the paper reported

President Donald Trump told his aides to prepare for an extended U.S. Naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the U.S. looks to intensify economic pressure on Iran as the war enters its third month.

The president, in meetings with top aides, decided to continue putting pressure on Iran’s ability to export oil by stopping any vessel heading to or from the Islamic Republic’s ports, the newspaper reported on Tuesday night. Trump determined that was a less risky option than resuming bombing or extracting the U.S. from the conflict entirely, the outlet said.

The decision suggests that the U.S. could be moving into a lengthy period with the fighting largely halted, but no durable resolution to the conflict, and the status of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still uncertain.

The U.S. has been blocking ships going to and from Iranian ports to try to squeeze the country of oil revenue, while Iran keeps the strait closed

Trump earlier Tuesday said Iran had asked the U.S. to lift the naval blockade of the strait while the two sides negotiate an end to the two-month war, which has upended global energy supplies.

Tehran wants the critical waterway for oil and gas shipments open “as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” Trump said on Truth Social earlier Tuesday. Iran has said it’s in a “State of Collapse,” he added.

Iran has signalled it may be willing to accept an interim deal to reopen the strait in exchange for Washington ending its blockade of Iranian ports, while postponing more complex negotiations over the country’s nuclear program. It is insisting on keeping some control over shipping through the strait, which Washington is unlikely to accept.

Trump rejected that offer from Iran, according to the WSJ, and told aides it showed that Iran wasn’t negotiating in good faith. Mediators in Pakistan expect Iran will submit a revised proposal to end the war in the next few days, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing sources close to the mediation process.

Brent crude rose for a seventh straight session to settle above US$111 a barrel, as concern grows of a protracted peace process that could keep Hormuz shut for an indefinite period.

The war’s ripple effects were underscored when the United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday it was leaving OPEC, dealing a blow to the oil cartel and its leader Saudi Arabia. The UAE, which can pump more crude than is allowed under its OPEC quota, has long chafed at the group’s restrictions.

“The decision is taken at the right time in our view because it’s not going to hugely impact the market: the market is undersupplied,” UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said. Abu Dhabi believes the shortages caused by the war will require agility to respond to market demands, he said.

The warring sides started a ceasefire around April 7 and hostilities may resume if they fail to agree to fresh talks, following an inconclusive first round in Pakistan in mid-April.

Iran’s offer to end the war is “better than what we thought they were going to submit,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News. Yet the White House has “questions about whether the person submitting it had the authority to submit,” he said, echoing previous U.S. claims that Iran’s leaders are divided over their negotiating strategy.

The strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the conflict began, remains at a virtual standstill.

Foreign leaders are increasingly frustrated with the diplomatic impasse and the continued shutdown of the waterway, which has led to fuel rationing across much of Asia and Africa and fears of a global economic slowdown.

Here’s more on the war’s impact:

• The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control issued an alert warning financial institutions about the sanctions risk of dealing with China’s so-called teapot refineries over their role in importing Iranian oil.
• OFAC separately issued “firm guidance” warning ships about the “significant sanctions exposures related to making ‘toll’ payments to the Government of Iran” or the country’s military for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
• U.S. Central Command said Marines boarded the commercial vessel M/V Blue Star III in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, but released it “after conducting a search and confirming the ship’s voyage would not include an Iranian port call.” The ship was suspected of attempting to travel to Iran in violation of the US naval blockade, Central Command said.
• The UK’s new ambassador to the U.S., Christian Turner, was reported to have said the real “special relationship” was between the U.S. and Israel, not the U.K.. While the Foreign Office did not dispute the remarks, it said they did not reflect the official position of their government. The comments were first reported by the Financial Times hours before King Charles III was due to arrive at the White House on Tuesday.
• The ceasefire in Lebanon remains shaky, with both Israel and Hezbollah accusing the other of attacks. The Israeli military said it dismantled two tunnels in southern Lebanon belonging to the Tehran-backed militant group.
• 
  
• https://nationalpost.com/news/world/israel-middle-east/donald-trump-strait-of-hormuz-blockade

UAE Announces Departure from OPEC Effective May 1st

Big things are happening quickly as President Trump continues to disrupt historic global structures of control and influence.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced they are leaving OPEC in order to manifest their own sovereign economic destiny and increase domestic oil production without the limits and rules of the OPEC cartel. This is a significant alignment with President Donald Trump who has actively argued against the OPEC assembly and the oil price controls they have historically imposed.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of one of its largest producers and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices.

The UAE’s decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low — meaning it wasn’t able to sell as much oil to the world as it had wanted.

“Having invested heavily in expanding energy production capacity in recent years, the bigger picture is that the UAE has been itching to pump more oil,” Capital Economics wrote in an analysis. “The ties binding OPEC members together have loosened,” it said, particularly after Qatar withdrew from the cartel in 2019. (read more)

As noted by CNBC, “The UAE has played an influential role in OPEC’s decisions over nearly six decades. It was the group’s third-largest oil producer in February behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Gulf state joined OPEC in 1967, seven years after the organization was founded.”

This is where things get really interesting….  Because the UAE can effectively eliminate the Hormuz chokepoint, and Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent previously outlined something very important to the UAE:

LAST WEEK:

WASHINGTON – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a number of allies in the Gulf region and in  Asia have requested currency swap lines from the United States to help deal with energy shocks and other fallout from the Middle East war.

Bessent told US senators that both the US and the United Arab Emirates would benefit from a proposed swap line that President Donald Trump said he was considering on Tuesday.

Bessent did not name the countries making such requests, but told a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing that such facilities would help stabilize financial markets amid turmoil from the Iran war.

“And swap lines, whether it’s from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar funding markets and to prevent the sale of the US assets in a disorderly way,” Bessent said. “So, the swap line would benefit both the UAE and the US, and as I said, numerous other countries, including some of our Asian allies, have also requested them.”

The US Treasury last October provided Argentina with a $20 billion currency swap to help stabilize the country’s peso during a tumultuous election period that helped strengthen the position of President Javier Milei’s party.

That swap line, backed by the Treasury’s $219 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund, provided Argentina with a safety net of dollars that the central bank could use to help prop up the value of the peso and prevent a devaluation ahead of the vote. It has since been repaid.

REQUESTS FOR RUSSIAN OIL

Bessent also said that he extended sanctions relief on Russian seaborne oil for another 30 days after requests from a number of countries that are most vulnerable to oil shortages from the closed Strait of Hormuz. The requests came during last week’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, he said.

The action reversed his comments last week that he would not renew expiring sanctions waivers. A separate waiver to allow countries to buy Iranian oil stranded at sea lapsed on April 19. (more)

The UAE can bypass the Hormuz chokepoint, and Saudi Arabia can pump oil to the Red Sea via their east/west pipeline.

If Trump keeps the blockade against Iranian oil shipments in place, the UAE and Saudi Arabia can fill the global oil void; however, they need to get outside the OPEC restrictions to do it.  Thus, the UAE exiting OPEC makes strategic sense both now and in the geopolitical longer term.

However, in the short run the UAE needs financial stability as the switch is done.  Enter Scott Bessent with the currency swap lines for the UAE.

Brilliant planning.

Iran just lost all their leverage.

Fauci Senior Advisor Indicted for Conspiracy Against United States, and Concealing COVID-19 Origination Records

Things are quickening.  It would appear that accountability for the COVID-19 cover up is finally here.

David Morens, 78, was the senior advisor to Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Mr Morens was indicted today by the Dept of Justice for conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting.  [Indictment pdf HERE]

In essence, Morens was indicted for manipulating science, facilitating the creation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and then running a cover-up operation.  The evidence of the cover up is what busted him.  Morens is hopefully the first of many who could be taken down in this network.  Peter Danszak should be next.

NEW YORK – […] The indictment, unsealed Monday in Maryland federal court, also notes two unnamed co-conspirators who “concealed, removed, destroyed and caused the concealment, and removal of federal records to evade FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] and FRA [Federal Records Act].”

Information in the indictment indicates the co-conspirators are Dr. Peter Daszak, the president of Manhattan-based non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, and Dr. Gerald Keusch, an associate director of Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory Institute and National Institutes of Health (NIH) grantee.

Morens, who served as a senior advisor to Fauci from 2006 to 2022, made his initial appearance in court Monday, and a judge granted him conditional release pending trial so long as he surrenders his US passport by Wednesday.  He must also “avoid all contact” with the co-conspirators. (more)

DOJ PRESS RELEASE: […] “These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19. Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas.”

“Circumventing records protocols with the intention of avoiding transparency is something that will not be tolerated by this FBI,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Not only did Morens allegedly engage in the illegal obfuscation of his communications, but he received kickbacks for doing so. If you have engaged in activity conspiring against the United States, we will not stop until you face justice.” (read more)

The DOJ needs to keep working their way up the chain until they get this guy…. 

DOJ Indicts Former FBI Director James Comey for Threats to Harm President Donald Trump

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced today a two-count indictment against former FBI Director James Comey from the Eastern District of North Carolina for threats against President Donald Trump. [Indictment Here]

According to the Press Release: […] “The Indictment includes two counts, first in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871, alleging that James Comey, 65, knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States. This charge alleges that on May 15, 2025, by publicly posting an image over the internet via Instagram depicting “86 47”, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.

The Indictment also charges Comey in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), that James Comey consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communication would be viewed as threatening violence, and that he knowingly transmitted a communication in interstate commerce that contained a threat to injure the person of another, which a reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to a person.” (SOURCE)

James Comey is charged with Threatening the President in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871(a) and Transmitting a Threat in Interstate Commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Additionally, similar to the criminal referral connected to former ICIG Michael Atkinson, today’s grand jury indictment creates a pressure point for ongoing DOJ investigations into additional related matters concerning FBI Director James Comey.