From Vox Popoli

The US military has exhausted itself trying to defend Israel from Iran:

The U.S. has burned through so many munitions in Iran that some administration officials increasingly assess that America couldn’t fully execute contingency plans to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion if it occurred in the near term, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. has fired more than 1,000 long-range Tomahawk missiles since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28, as well as 1,500 to 2,000 critical air-defense missiles, including Thaad, Patriot and Standard Missile interceptors, according to U.S. officials who declined to give exact figures.

Wholly replacing those stockpiles could take up to six years, officials said, kicking off discussions in the administration about adjusting operational plans in preparation for any potential presidential order for the military to defend Taiwan.

And now, with three carrier groups in the Middle East, the US military appears to be beautifully set up for a potential Syracuse Expedition. While three carrier groups and more than 200 warplanes pack a serious offensive punch, they don’t necessarily have enough ability to defend themselves from a serious attempt at sinking them. The destruction of the dozens of US bases in the reason should suffice to demonstrate the Iranian capabilities in that regard.

I was wondering why the Iranians didn’t make any serious and concerted attempts on the one carrier that was in range during the first month of the war. It may be because the Iranian strategists actually wanted to encourage more US forces to enter the region, as that’s the only place they can be successfully attacked and potentially destroyed.

Regardless, what we’ve witnessed here is confirmation of the end of the sole global superpower era.

So, I’ve been wondering what has become of the Iranian submarines. Perhaps, as Vox suggests, they’re just bidding their time …