US asks China to stop Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz

Right, so how can the US close it if Iran closes it first? We need China to keep it open, so that then the US can close it to hurt China.

Isn't that more than a year away? If Netanyahu and his stooges have their way there won't be an Iran by then.

it's such a weird thing for the US to say, too - like China needs them to point out what their own interests are

China gets their Iranian oil from trains not boats.

This is not the US trying to help China.

Remind me in 5 years

China imports 1.3 to 1.8 million barrels of oil *per day* from Iran, roughly 16% of its total. It's not just oil either, China is a heavy importer of other Iranian petrochemicals.

China's EVs give them very little leverage at this point.

Make ... *(cough, cough, cough)* .... America ... *(cough, HACK, ACK)* ...Great ... *(cough, hack, wheeze, cough, hack)*... Again

America: .... *(pretending to make static sounds, muffling their voice like it's a bad connection)*.... WHAT'S THAT??! ... we've got a bad connection ... did you say .... BOMB THEM MORE? .... *(keeps pretending to make static sounds)*

America: I can't believe you would say something so fucking stupid.

America: Come on, you're pulling that one out of nowhere. That can't be the reason, we bomb people all the time!

sounds horrible, imagine trillions going to improving the country and helping people instead of being funneled into the pocket of the wealthiest people in the country.

what a nightmare...

There's no reason for this oil dependency,

Right wing nationalists push for energy independence

Environmentalists push for not destroying the place we live

Healt advocates push for better air quality

...

but Oil shareholders like money so fuck everyone else.

I think there were intelligence officials that echoed this same sentiment years ago.

Imagine for a moment if the fortune spent on the failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was instead invested in reducing our dependence on oil.

The Chinese government sitting around the phone with the US on hold ...."how long should we make them wait?"

"Give them another hour, it's already been two" *(another round of belly busting laugher)*

Stupid fucking bozos

Oh that would be so funny if the USA announces removing restrictions on Russian oil because of this, only for China to immediately sign a deal with Russia to take the lot.

Idk something tells me China would happily buy Russian oil sanction or not. Especially if their main source is disrupted.

>common sense isn't always available when conservative is ruling.

It wasn't when liberals were ruling either (see: Gulf of Aden). This is an imperialism thing, not a conservative thing (though conservatives are worse about it).

Everyone knew Iran would shut the straight, this is all just subterfuge for loosening restrictions on Russian oil purchases because "we have no other options".

given how rare common sense is, it no longer works as an expression

They’ll just use it as an excuse to bomb Iran some more

Iran has got jack for leverage. There is a binary choice here:

A) Shutdown the Straight. Get fucking wrecked by the US military, or a coalition.

B) Posture but don't actually shut it down.

You don't fuck with international trade.

China: have you tried not bombing them?

US probably shouldn't fuck with people who got the leverage on the economy, but alas, common sense isn't always available when conservative is ruling.

China:


maybe stopping the oil addiction was not only for the environment, but a matter of national defense.

Tune in next week for part 2 of the US-Iran war: “And Find Out.”

In the meantime, China is going all in on EVs thus reducing their dependence on oil…. Gee, wonder what leverage that gives them.

Waaaa crybabies!

america helped israel so now China has to help america. Donald Trump better say Thank you.

Setting arrangements of that sort in place ahead of time would be called diplomacy.

How about moving to non-fossil alternatives? Like 4 decades ago? Gee that would've been a great idea.

I’m confused… China is dependent on oil

imports flowing through the strait of Hormuz. Much more so than the US is. In fact the US maintains a naval presence in the region specifically so they’d have the capability to block that strait and starve China of oil. China produces very little oil of their own, though they have coal up the wazoo. Blocking that strait is the US’s main card to play if China invade Taiwan.

Oh no, not the oil!

/s

It's a good thing they kept coal alive. Can't wait for my coal driven Ford soccer mom car to release. Little Jimmy and little Linda in the back seat might have to get their hands dirty throwing fistfuls of coal in the furnace, but it will be good for them. Builds character!

I lose my appetite instantly, whenever I see Rubios face .

I hope Iran waits until a couple months before the midterms to close the Strait. Nothing like sky-high oil prices to swing an election.

Gotta spread that blowback around

oh no. anyway.

Reading these comments seriously makes me wonder how many of y'all read the article. The US doesn't need Iranian oil but China DOES.

A dwindling supply of oil through the Strait and rising oil prices damages China and buoys the United States. If China doesn't want to put any effort into keeping the Strait open it's going to hurt *them* far more than it will hurt anyone else.