[rbanffy]

That'll work until Iran starts sinking ships trusting Trump's word for them "controlling" Hormuz. Which should be more or less the first time a ship tries to cross without an Iranian blessing.

In the end, they'll pay extortion fees to two parties.

BTW, what will the US do? Sink oil carriers? Board them and take them by force regardless of their flag?

[belorn]

The Golden Age of Piracy lasted between 1650s and the 1730s, and it involved most of the oceans and most ocean trading nations.

Board or sink anyone who don't surrender to the extortion. Flags only work if nations respect them, and nations that are willing to pirate ships is very unlikely to respect flags.

The Hormuz strait is now basically the same as coast of Somalia, except that now the pirates has missiles, rockets and torpedoes.

[verzali]

The US has already killed a few Indian sailors, I am not sure they would blink at causing an oil slick.