UK Nuclear-Powered Submarine Arrives in Arabian Sea! Bridgewater Associates Founder Posts: The Great Battle of Hormuz is About to Erupt

On the evening of the 21st local time, UK media citing military sources reported that a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine has arrived in the Arabian Sea, equipped with the capability to launch cruise missiles.

On March 19 local time, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan issued a joint statement announcing their readiness to take appropriate measures together to ensure the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Canada soon joined and issued the same joint statement. The UK government’s official website promptly updated and confirmed this information.

On the evening of the 20th, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the South Korean government has decided to join the “Joint Statement on the Strait of Hormuz” issued by the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Canada.

The Ministry stated that this decision was made considering South Korea’s fundamental stance on the security of international maritime routes and freedom of navigation, international developments, and the direct impact of blocked passage through the Strait of Hormuz on South Korea’s energy supply and economy.

With this, a total of eight countries have publicly expressed their stance.

As the current focus of the conflict, both the United States and Iran are showing great concern over the Strait of Hormuz. According to previous reports from US sources, the US military is currently reinforcing its presence in the Middle East, with the purpose centered around the Strait of Hormuz.

On the 20th, US media reported that three warships, including the amphibious assault ship “Pugilist,” and about 2,500 Marines have departed from San Diego, California, heading to the Middle East. Previously, the US Department of Defense had dispatched the amphibious assault ship “Leroy” from Japan to transport the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East.

It is disclosed that this troop reinforcement will provide President Trump with more military options, including initiating actions to “open” the Strait of Hormuz, which would involve deploying air and naval forces along the Iranian coast.

Additionally, the Trump administration is also considering deploying ground forces to the oil-exporting hub of Kharg Island, with the plan aiming to seize the island as leverage to pressure Iran into restoring passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Kharg Island is located in the northwest Persian Gulf, over 20 kilometers from the Iranian coast, and is Iran’s largest oil export base, with about 90% of Iran’s oil exports passing through here.

In response to the US plan to seize Kharg Island, Iranian military sources stated that if the US launches a “military invasion” of Kharg Island, it will face an unprecedented counterattack since Israel and the US attacked Iran.

According to a report from Cankao Xiaoxi on March 21, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio issued a dire warning on March 16: conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran will revolve around a decisive confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz, and the outcome will affect far more than just oil prices. It will determine whether the US-led global order can survive.

In a lengthy post on X, Dalio wrote: “Everything depends on who controls the Strait of Hormuz.” He believes that if Iran still has the ability to control the strait, or even participate in negotiations over who can pass through, then regardless of how the conflict is resolved, the US will be seen as having lost the war.

Dalio compared a possible US failure over the Strait of Hormuz to Britain’s experience during the Suez Crisis of 1956, a moment widely regarded by historians as marking the end of the British Empire’s global imperialism. He notes a recurring pattern over nearly 500 years: a rising power challenges the dominant empire over a key trade route, and funds and alliances quickly shift to the victor.

The dominant power, i.e., the issuer of the global reserve currency, may first experience “fiscal overexpansion,” and then lose control in the conflict, “exposing its weaknesses.” Dalio wrote: “Be cautious of losing confidence among allies and creditors, the loss of reserve currency status, the selling off of debt assets, and currency devaluation, especially relative to gold.”

Dalio believes both sides are caught in a conflict with no diplomatic solution. He wrote: “Although some talk about ending this war through agreements, everyone knows that any agreement is worthless because it cannot resolve the war.”

He states that the core issue is asymmetric motives. For Iran’s leadership, this war “is a matter of survival,” involving regime stability, national dignity, and religious beliefs. For Americans, it mainly concerns gasoline prices; for US politicians, it’s primarily about midterm elections. Regarding which side benefits in the long-term struggle, Dalio’s view is clear: “In war, the ability to endure pain is even more important than the ability to inflict pain.”

He argues that Iran’s strategy is to impose this pain as long as possible and wait for the US to withdraw, just as the US did in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

(Source: Daily Economic News)