As of April 13, the United States Navy has enforced a full blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, with roughly 15,000 American service members executing the mission. US Central Command reported Friday that more than 70 tankers — with capacity to carry over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil valued at $13 billion or more — are currently held in check. F/A-18s struck an unspecified number of Very Large Crude Carriers attempting to breach the line.
President Trump called Thursday's strikes "love taps." Analysts have warned the blockade risks triggering a return to full-scale war.
The republic is at the edge of war. Fifteen thousand Americans are in harm's way. The Founders gave Congress the power to declare war for exactly this reason — so that no single man could walk the nation into the fire alone. Article I still stands. The question is whether the men and women sworn to uphold it remember their oath.