Ed wrote a post this morning about the likelihood that an attack on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, aka their latest nuclear site, could be coming soon. It has only been a few hours but a lot has happened in that time. For one thing, President Trump repeated his warning that a strike would be coming soon.
In the deadlocked conflict with Iran, US President Donald Trump has once again threatened US strikes on the area surrounding the Iranian nuclear facility known as "Pickaxe Mountain."
"We'll hit that site. Any site where they're even thinking about nuclear, we'll be hitting it very, very powerfully," Trump said during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday at the White House.
Here's a video of him saying much the same thing.
President Trump says the US will be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area, a heavily fortified site linked to Iran's nuclear program, 'pretty soon and very heavily' https://t.co/A8DHUX0kqX pic.twitter.com/Y6bE56FZ4O
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 21, 2026
Meanwhile, Iran is making threats. Don't strike our nuclear sites or else.
Iran's top joint military command said Tuesday that all U.S. interests and those of its allies in the region would be targeted if Washington attacks Iran's nuclear facilities, according to Iranian state media, Reuters reported.
Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the joint military command responsible for coordinating the country's armed forces, also said any U.S. strike on Tehran’s nuclear or other sensitive sites would lead to an expansion of the war in the region, according to state media, as reported by Iran International.
The command warned that U.S. interests and its supporters would face a "powerful assault" if an attack were carried out.
Iran makes so many threats so often that it's hard to know whether to take any of them seriously. They are already firing missiles at U.S. bases and doing their best to kill U.S. service members. So what more can they actually do at this point when the U.S. appears to have control of the skies over Iran? What powerful assault can they still launch that differs from what they are already doing?
It seems to me the answer is probably not much, though this threat does reinforce the president's entire reasoning for fighting this conflict. If Iran had a nuclear weapon, they might use it. That's precisely why they can't be allowed to have one.
Meanwhile, the blockade of Iran continues.
Every operational success in the Middle East begins and ends with service members focused on their missions, including the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of July 21, U.S. forces have redirected 8 commercial vessels and disabled 1 to fully enforce the blockade. pic.twitter.com/e9020BcaCQ
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 21, 2026
And with that, the supply of oil to the world is dropping.
The number of tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell in the past day to the lowest level in two months, shipping data showed on Monday, as renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran and attacks on vessels heightened safety concerns.
Shipping industry sources said vessels were increasingly switching off their public AIS tracking transponders, making it difficult to determine the full number of ships crossing the waterway...
"Should the renewed escalation in the strait lead to another prolonged closure of Hormuz, the world will find itself in a much tougher spot," ship broker Gibson said in a report.
"With global inventories rapidly depleted in recent months, this is a recipe for much tighter supply, higher prices and significant downside risk for tanker markets."
Nationally, gas prices now average $4 per gallon, but of course California is the worst with a state average of $5.50 per gallon. I think we should finish the job in Iran to make sure they don't have a bomb anytime soon. But we are going to pay a real price for this so it needs to be done as quickly as possible.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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