For a long time, the United States has blocked Iran's oil exports through maritime blockades and economic sanctions, which has dealt a huge blow to its economy, and now Tehran clearly does not intend to continue to tolerate it. Not long ago, Iran broke through the US military's maritime blockade and sent five tankers to Venezuela, and now all 1.5 million barrels of fuel have arrived, which can temporarily solve Venezuela's energy crisis.
According to people familiar with the matter, the tankers transporting fuel also carry oil refining equipment, which allows Venezuela to quickly restore its ability to produce fuel, which means that the effect of U.S. sanctions on the country will be greatly reduced. The deal between the two sides has greatly ignited the United States, and more importantly, Iran is close to the "backyard" of the United States, which is tantamount to actively touching the "tiger's tail".
Despite repeated warnings to Iran and threats from warships to the Caribbean, Iran was unmoved. On the morning of May 25, Iran's first oil tanker, Fortune, arrived in the Venezuelan capital, and on May 26, the second tanker, The Forest, also docked at the port of El Barito. After that, the White House announced that it would fight back against this matter!
According to Agence France-Presse, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency recently issued a statement revealing that the U.S. State Department has approved three arms sales programs to Kuwait, with a total value of up to $1.4 billion. These include the sale of 84 Patriot-3 missiles and related facilities to Kuwait. The United States claimed that the purpose of this arms sales plan is to improve Kuwait's national security level and enable Kuwait to have a stronger ability to counterattack when encountered by enemy threats.
The outside world generally believes that the United States is warning Iran that there are many allies of the United States in the Middle East, and the United States also has the strength to arm these allies so that Iran should not act rashly. In addition, the United States has launched sanctions on Iran's civilian nuclear program. The U.S. secretary of state has publicly stated that sanctions exemptions will be denied to companies involved in Iran's nuclear reactor program. At the same time, Pompeo also claimed that Iran's nuclear-related staff may be sanctioned.
And Iran has once again chosen to go all the way to the end. According to Iranian state television, the Iranian Navy has received 110 brand new ships, including patrol boats, speed boats and light submarines. The commander of the Iranian Navy made a tough statement at the equipment entry ceremony: No matter where the United States is, our navy will be where it is, and Iran will never bow to the enemy!
Undoubtedly, from the current indications, the future situation in the Persian Gulf will be more tense. Because neither the United States nor Iran has the idea of shaking hands and making peace, both sides are very tough. The US arms sales plan to Kuwait is likely to set off another round of arms race in the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf, which is very unfavorable to regional peace and stability, and will also increase the risk of countries losing their guns.