I’m so jaded at this point in the conflict that I don’t believe anything. The UAE initially said it shot down everything but it’s clear they didn’t. They noted they’d hit 3 loitering munitions, which were presumably drones.
Obviously, they didn’t hit everything or we wouldn’t have seen the fires.
What’s less clear is why Iran fired on them and why the response so far has been so quiet. One explanation is that the US attacked seven Iranian fast boats and sank them as they approached.
Trump said just now to ABC that only one got through and didn’t create ‘huge’ damage. He also stopped short of saying it was a violation of the ceasefire, according to the report.
That’s obviously a key detail but it’s not much consolation to the oil market, which is up $3.81 to $105.76, though down from the highs of $105.73.
Update: Now we are also getting comments from Iran.
- Iran had no premeditated plans to attack oil facilities in UAE (this is a repeat from earlier)
- What happened at the port was the result of US military’s adventurism to create passage for illegal ship transit through Hormuz
