Transcription
Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the street of Hormuz.
Hey everybody, it's April 12th, 2026, and in the last 12 hours, highstakes ceasefire talks in Islamabad completely collapsed after 21 hours with no deal. Vice President JD Vance laid it out straight. He said, "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement." And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America. They have chosen not to accept our terms.
President Trump didn't waste any time. He dropped the naval blockade bombshell on Truth Social. And this is exactly what he said. This is likely telling us what this naval blockade is going to look like and what the focus of it may be. He said Iran promised to open the straight of Hormuz and they knowingly failed to do so. This caused anxiety, dislocation, and pain to many people in countries throughout the world. They said they put mines in the water even though all of their navy, most of their mind droppers have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take that chance? Exactly. There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran and what's left of their leaders in quotes. That tells us a lot right there about who's actually in charge of Iran and what respect President Trump, JD Vance, what respect the administration actually has for who they're negotiating with and where this could go from here. But we are beyond all of that. As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this international waterway open and fast. Every law in the book is being violated by them.
I have been fully debriefed by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the meeting that took place in Islamabad through the kind of very competent leadership of Field Marshall Asam Munir, Prime Minister Shabbas Sharif of Pakistan. They are very extraordinary men and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives and what would have been a horrendous war with India. Yeah, we know that that conflict almost happened turned into a major air war, which shameless plug, I have a video on that.
Then he goes on to say, "I always appreciate hearing that. The amount of humanity spoken of is incomprehensible. The meeting with Iran began early in the morning and lasted throughout the night, close to 20 hours. I could go into great detail. There is one thing that matters. Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions. In many ways, the points that were agreed to are better than us continuing our military operations to conclusion. But all of those points don't matter compared to allowing nuclear power to be in the hands of such volatile, difficult, unpredictable people. My three representatives as of this time went by became not surprisingly very friendly and respectful of Iran's representatives. But that doesn't matter because they were very unyielding as to the most single important issue. And as I've always said right from the beginning and many years ago, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. I know that was a long post, but I think it's something that we have to see.
He also continues on with another one which is telling us what this blockade could look like. He says, "There you have it. Meeting went well. Most points agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, nuclear, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Straight of Hormuz. At some point, we will reach an all being allowed to go in, all being allowed to go out basis. But Iran has not allowed that by saying there may be a mine out there somewhere that nobody knows about but them. This is world extortion. He's got a point. And leaders of countries, especially in the US, will never be extorted. I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in international waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas. We will also begin destroying the mines that Iranians laid in the straight. Any Iranian who fires at us or at a peaceful vessel will be blown to hell. Iran knows better than anyone how to end the situation which has already devastated their country. Their navy is gone. Air force is gone. Anti-aircraft and radars are useless. Kmeni and most of their leaders are dead all because of their nuclear ambition. The blockade will begin shortly. Other countries will be involved with the blockade. Iran will not be allowed to profit off this illegal act of extortion. They want money and more importantly they want nuclear. Additionally, and at an appropriate moment, we are fully locked and loaded and our military will finish up the little that is left of Iran.
President Donald J. Trump, as you can see right there, calling out Iran for the extortion. We know if you look at this map right here, Iran has created what they say is a minefield that directs all of the traffic up near the coastline of Iran so they can a collect a toll, b target those ships more effectively if they want to threaten more of these ships or actually not just threaten but actually strike them as we've seen them do in the past. And this is basically Trump throwing out the Trump card literally to out blockade Iran and control maritime traffic through the straight of Hormuz. Right now, US destroyers, USS Frank E. Peterson, USS Michael Murphy are already transiting that narrow choke point as part of mine clearing operations against IRGC mines. These are Arlay Burke class guided missile destroyers that pack 96 vertical launch system cells and advanced Aegis radar. Aegis is one of the most important technologies right now being used in the straight of Hormuz.
All right, this one's strategic. With tensions rising in the straight of Hormuz, mines in the straight of Hormuz, and America pushing hard for energy independence, uranium just became front and center. The US Department of Energy just announced 2.7 billion with a B in contracts to rebuild domestic uranium enrichment. But why? Because America burns over 50 million pounds of uranium every year, but produces less than 1 million pounds here at home. That leaves us 92% dependent on foreign suppliers, including Russia. That's where Kirkstone Metals comes in. Trading as KSM in Canada and KSMCF in the US. Kirkstone controls two 100% owned uranium projects right in the heart of the Aabaska Basin. That's the richest uranium district on the planet. They've already hit high-grade uranium near surface at their key lake project and are now hunting the massive source below using a proven playbook. With a market cap still under 12 million in a neighborhood worth 200 billion, Kirkstone is one of the most asymmetric plays in the sector, especially as uranium prices surge and Washington doubles down on domestic supply. If you want the full story on this critical minerals play, check the link in the description. A special thanks to Kirkstone Medals for making today's video possible.
Think of Aegis as something that gets everybody on the same sheet of music, talks to the different systems, talks to fighter jets, talks to E2D, Hawkeyes, Awax, F-22s, F-35s. It's basically the maestro of the orchestra that ties in all the different naval assets so they can share each other's radars and information. So, think about a destroyer that's getting information about incoming drones from Iran that can then pump that to a different destroyer. Maybe some leakers that some drones got through that leaked through the initial volley and they're going for another destroyer that can be passed to them from that first destroyer that spotted them. That's the power of the Aegis radar system and it can track and engage multiple threats at once while the ships are going, you know, 30 plus knots.
Trump just said the US has begun the process of clearing out the straight of form and Iran is already threatening our warships. Iran is throwing out rhetoric that they're going to target US warships. And if you think this is just talk, I would say think again. American sailors and aviators are on station already making this happen. So this is American air power in action and what happens next could change how we see the entire fight that could continue with Iran. We're seeing some immediate consequences with this naval blockade likely in action right now, if not here soon. US Navy destroyers have pushed into the straight of Hormuz. That's the first major transit since things have heated up in the region, working to clear IRGC laid mines, some of which Tron has reportedly lost track of. And it could also just be threats. This could be a strategy. This could be a part of their extortion plan to just push all the ships up there near the Leavon Island, which is said to be the Leavon toll booth where Iran's mafia wing. Hm. Weird. The mafia trying to collect money. We've never seen this happen before. But again, a regime that acts like a mafia is going to do exactly this extortion. So, President Trump's calling them out. Any ship that pays that extortion cost is now going to be intercepted and interdicted by the US Navy. So, this is probably going to make these IRGCN commanders a little bit nervous knowing that there could be actual repercussions to their toll booth of Leavon Island. But will it make them stop? Yeah, I'm sure the mafia will just stop. I'm sure the mafia will just one day decide, you know what? We're just going to go straight. Forget all that mafia stuff. Forget all the slaying of thousands of people in our country. We're just going to give that all up. I'm sure that'll happen to the IRGC. But underwater drones are already likely in the water supporting the effort, potentially combining with US forces out there doing this dirty work of finding these supposed mines. This directly challenges Iran's attempt to shut down commercial shipping in the most critical waterway for energy flows to China, India, Europe, Japan. Lots of different countries get their oil from that area. But at the end of the day, the US Navy is showing Iran that they're not going to be the ones in control of the strait. And I think that makes Iran very nervous. And what they do next could show whether we go back into the conflict very soon. And this isn't the end of the story. It's just the opening move in what could reshape the entire conflict and the entire theater at this point.
On the Iranian side, though, officials are responding with sharp defiance. Huh. We're very shocked. Shocker. Iran being defiant. They're blaming the collapse of the talks on what they call unreasonable and excessive US demands covering the nuclear program, regional issues, likely their regional proxies. They don't want to stop having their regional proxies out there doing their dirty work. Obviously, they're basically coming to the negotiations just doing the exact same thing, not giving up anything else. Hm, weird. Negotiating with terrorists is hard. Yeah, we never saw that coming, but especially control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran does not want to give up any part of that because that's their last domino. That's what they use to extort the world. And it's all pretty clear at this point what they've been doing. Parliamentary speaker from Iran, Muhammad Bagger Galab, and state media have mocked the American delegation, saying the US flew halfway around the world for nothing and failed to build any trust. Iran insists its positions on sanctions relief and the waterway remain non-negotiable. Hm. We're in negotiations, but things that really matter are non-negotiable. Yeah, seems like a great way to go about the negotiations with the most powerful military in the world. But Iran has issued threats against US warships while denying parts of transit operations, saying they're going to stop the transit operations. So things could heat up here any second.
Geographically, the straight of four moves. It's that little narrow waterway 21 mi wide. And when you look at this map right here, Iran doing this is very strategic. Remember, they're pushing all of that traffic up right next to their coastline. And Iran's rhetoric is extremely loud. Pretty loud for a country whose military has been basically decimated. It's like that meme of the knight who gets the flesh wound and is standing there with their arms and legs cut off and they're like, "Everything is fine. It's just a flesh wound."
But here are the key takeaways. Sustained naval blockade or aggressive clearing operation in the straight is not only possible, it's already showing early signs of execution. We've seen multiple US destroyers already in the straight of Hormuz and reopening that choke point would keep global energy flowing. But it would also show Iran that they don't control it and likely the US will give security guarantees to the actual strait of Hormuz, creating a de facto blockade for an indefinite amount of time. This raises the risk of direct naval clashes, but it protects tanker traffic for the allies of the United States. Vice President Vance delivered the official word clearly. The failure is far worse for Iran than for the US because they rejected our terms. From a military ops perspective, US forces are demonstrating the technological edge and professionalism that define the US Navy's mind clearing operation, which we'll just say is a bit of a dirty job. Yeah, this is highstakes explosive ordinance disposal, if I've ever seen it. And control of the strait means the difference in my opinion between the fall of the regime or the regime hanging on by a lifeline. This shows that American strategy right now is becoming deliberate, capable, and backed by the real capability of the naval blockade. We saw this executed in Venezuela and then it started to crumble the regime in Venezuela itself. Will we see this blockade be the last nail in the coffin for this fragile regime which President Trump calls leaders?
So, you can see a lot of these leaders aren't exactly respected within the administration. But let's talk about the hardware that's making all of this possible. These Arlay Burke class guided missile destroyers. Each displaces 9,200 tons of water, stretches over 500 ft, can sprint 30 knots or more thanks to a gas turbine propulsion system. They carry 96 MK-41 vertical launch system cells loaded with a mix of air defenses, anti-ship, and land attack missiles, plus a 5-in gun, failank closein weapon system, and torpedoes. No big deal. When the failank automatic radar guided machine gun isn't enough, let's just add in a couple torpedoes. Okay. And then supporting them from the air are the MH53E Seagra helicopters. That's the Navy's dedicated airborne mine countermeasures platform. These heavy lift birds can tow magnetic and mechanical sweeping gear. Use side scan sonar for hunting and neutralize mines without putting ships at unnecessary risk. And then the P8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. That's the big picture quarterback of mine clearing in the sky. Using advanced radars, sonob buoys, sensors to detect surface and subsurface threats over vast distances while capable of carrying torpedoes and harpoon missiles.
Now, let's move to the 40 chest strategic analysis section. This is smart 40 chess in my opinion if I've ever seen it. Iran tried to turn the strait into its own chokeold, basically using mafia style tactics of extortion, but now the US Navy is flipping the script by clearing the mines supposedly. Hey Iran, you don't need to bring the ships up next to your coastline anymore because we found all the mines. And Iran's like, oh well, there's more mines down there. Yeah, that we didn't tell anybody about. There's actually more. So finding out if this threat of the mines is actually real from Iran is one of the biggest 40 chess moves that I think will come out of this and focusing on the intense naval blockade of that waterway. And you know who's not going to be happy about that blockade? Uh well, first of all, the Iranian regime because they're not going to get the money from China anymore. And then obviously China is going to be a little bit disturbed about the naval blockade. And who knows what kind of pressure that could actually put on the Iranian regime. Will we see the US go in and take K Island, do more to pressure the regime to actually come to the table, or will these strikes just kick back off? Let me know what you think in the comments below. Would love to hear what you think. Go ahead and follow me on X, follow me on Instagram. I'm posting there pretty much every day. And then join the Max Ready room by clicking the link in the description. And then watch this next video that pops up right here. This is Ryan, also known as Max Afterburner, signing.