On April 15, the U.S. blockade failed! A container ship arrived in Pakistan, leaving the White House stunned.

British maritime media Lloyd's Maritime Daily and Shipinfo.cn revealed a piece of news: an Iranian container ship sailed along the coastline, traveling right next to Iranian territorial waters all the way to Pakistan. This route lies entirely within Iranian territorial waters, rendering the U.S. blockade on international waters completely inapplicable.

The U.S. blockade targets international waters. Matters within Iranian territorial waters fall beyond U.S. jurisdiction. The vessel’s path closely followed Iran’s coastline, remaining entirely within Iranian territorial waters from start to finish. If U.S. warships dared approach, they would enter the range of Iranian missile strikes.

Iran possesses anti-ship missiles. The C-802 "Nour" anti-ship missile, in service with Iran, has a maximum range of 120 kilometers, flying just 20 to 30 meters above the sea surface during its cruise phase, then dropping to only 5 to 7 meters when approaching the target. Should a U.S. warship attempt to intercept near Iran’s coast, it would face attacks from this missile—especially if moving slowly.

In addition, there are numerous suicide drones capable of launching saturation attacks against slow-moving U.S. warships. The Arleigh Burke Flight IIA’s passive phased-array radar has long suffered from being unable to cover all directions simultaneously, making it difficult to escape unscathed.

Naturally, another tactic available to U.S. warships is directly firing to destroy foreign tankers hugging the coastline—such as those from Japan, India, South Korea, or China. The advantage is that U.S. ships can remain safely positioned while completely blocking these vessels. However, the downside is clear: destroying a Chinese tanker could amount to direct warfare. Even if it’s just cargo, what about the scenario where dozens of Chinese crew members are killed instantly?

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862523817008204/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.